What are we chasing?

I love my cats.  This morning I woke up to this little scuffling noise.  My cat was trying to get inside this little box under the dresser.  She was very intent and focused.  As I watched, her determination took her under the dresser with the box.  I realize that this particular cat is not as big as she looks due to all of the hair.  But she squashed herself under the dresser all the same, to get whatever was in that box.  Now, I must share with you that we live in a 100 year old farmhouse.  We have mice.  Our cats are excellent mousers (the only time we see evidence of one of these mice, it is usually when they are being pursued or dead - I love my cats).  So, I made the educated guess that she had a mouse trapped in that box.  I got out of bed and examined the box - without touching it of course.  This particular box was an old box for Stove Top Stuffing (which my husband has a great weakness for).  I recognized it as one that had been repurposed by my husband.  I remembered that there was some kind of trap in there - I couldn’t remember if it was for bugs or mice, but he had used the box for the cat’s safety.  Upon a distant inspection I could see that the box had two openings.  I blocked one opening with another object, the cat still diligently guarding the other opening, guided it out from under the dresser and turned it on its end so that the culprit had little chance to escape.  No movement.  I looked into the open end of the box from as far away as I could and found myself face to face with a mouse!  It’s eyes were studying me carefully.  Wait, no they weren’t, they were dead.  It was a dead mouse.  Fresh enough that it was not moving, but had no smell.  Lovely.  I guess I would rather be face to face with a dead mouse rather than a live one.  And God has blessed me that it was fresh rather than in some state of decomposition.  

Ok, nice story - if you chose to read it over breakfast, I do apologize - but here is my point…  What was my cat doing spending so much time trying to capture a mouse that was already dead…  How many things in our life are we focused and diligent to capture that have no meaning and no purpose?  What are we chasing that is ‘already dead’?  Sometimes my kids will be playing a game and say “I just have to get to one more level mom, please?”  My heartless response is “you don’t ‘have to’, whether you achieve the next level or not has absolutely no bearing on your life”.  What is there that we have in our lives that we feel we just “have to” do or accomplish.  What kinds of things are taking your focus off of God?  Is what you are focused on a job that God has given you to do?  Does it have a significant bearing on your life?  Is it a necessity?  God does want us to enjoy our lives and free time, that is why he gives us some.  But he also wants us to make good choices.  Sometimes a game with the kids will trump sweeping the floor.  And sometimes weeding the garden will trump reading a book.  In my world, everything trumps a video game or TV - haha - hope you read that dear children of mine.

There is another dead mouse to consider, are you chasing a large and life changing thing that is just out of reach in a box?  Is it God directed, or something He has put out of reach because it is bad for you?  Is it a relationship that will ruin your life - like a dead mouse or poisoned mouse would ruin my cat’s health?  Is it a job change that is not in God’s plan?  Pray about what it is you find yourself focused on.  See if it is God’s will, or just a dead mouse.