IT CAME. FROM. THE PANTRY!

IT CAME. FROM. THE PANTRY!

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you."  – Psalm 56:3.

There was a noise in the pantry. A while back, I was sitting in the family room, minding my own business and I heard it.  It was a long, crackling sound followed by a thud coming from the other room.  Living in the countryside, there are a lot of things that might sneak in the front door in the split second that it takes to bring in a bag of groceries. I found a baby frog in our living room once, for goodness sake!  I digress.

My husband was due home in about 15 minutes.  Being the chicken that I am, I thought I would wait until he got home before before venturing a peek in the pantry door. I didn’t want to face whatever it was ALONE!  If I was going to have a close encounter with some beady-eyed beast living in there, I was going to do it from a distance...behind my husband...while standing on a kitchen chair!  My husband is brave.  He’s a cop!  He knows how to use a GUN! 

While waiting for him to arrive home, I started thinking about what I would need to do to clean up the pantry.  I pulled up the phone number for the pest control company and wrote a list of the cleaning products I would need. I tried to remember where in the barn I had put the plastic tubs that I would need to temporarily hold the items I would need to take off of the shelves in order to clean.

I started to wonder how to effectively remove the disease-infested footprints I suspected were now all over the canned goods, without destroying the labels.  How do you dispose of mouse poop?  Do you flush it down the toilet or throw it in the garbage?  Where were my rubber gloves?  Maybe I needed a mask.  Rodents carry disease, after all.  What if they needed to put one of those big tents over the house to exterminate?  You know, the huge, striped ones that look like they came from some circus surplus store.  What would the neighbors think?!

Well, just about that time my hubby walked in the door.  I started telling him about the noise...that there was now some disgusting, uninvited vermin using our pantry as a bed and breakfast...and TOILET!  It was then that he whipped open the pantry door.  And right there...on the floor... was a sack of potatoes that had simply slid off of a shelf onto the floor.

I went through all of that torment for NOTHING!  Okay, I might be a bit more like Lucy Ricardo than the average person, but am I the only one whose brain goes in unnecessary, adrenalin-producing, fear-feeding, energy-wasting tangents when they hear “noises” in their life?

What did I learn from this? “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:34.  Don’t borrow trouble, people!

"Can any of you add a single hour to your life by worrying?” – Matthew 6:27. Nope!  If anything, worry shortens our lives and gives us grey hair and wrinkles.  

Note to self:  Worry makes you look like an old hag!  Just stop it!

Then, the Lord reminded me, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10.  

Even if we face REAL varmints in our pantries —or stress, worry or even death, we never have to face them alone.  Ever.

Father, together with the one reading this, we come before you. Nudge us when our minds start heading in unhealthy, trust-less and fearful directions. Show us how to arrest our vandalizing thoughts and make them prisoner to Your truth.  Renew our minds by Your Word, so our undisciplined thoughts don’t lead us around like a cow with a ring through its nose. Your Word says that without faith it is impossible to please You (Heb 11:6). Lord, we so much want to please You! Teach us how to trust You and not worry.  Plant Your truths way deep down in our hearts, so we will remember that no matter what we face in life, we never need to face it alone. Your Spirit will never leave us. And Father, mature us in our faith. So before we pick up our phone to call anyone else for help, our first thought will always be to call out to You.  In Jesus’ Name  ❤️

P.S.  On an interesting note, not 10 minutes after writing this, I walked into my home office and found — you guessed it— rodent droppings. When God teaches us a lesson, He gives us opportunities to practice what we learned.  Here we go!  Lord, when I am afraid I will trust in You!

Dear Friend, not all fear is bad.  After all, it is wisdom combined with a healthy fear of harm that prevent us from doing many foolish things in life.  But when fear gets out of control, it can become life-dominating and can crush the joy of life out of you and the lives of those around you. Why not bring your fears and anxieties before the Lord?  Ask Him to show you which fears are there to protect you from actual harm and which fears are just potatoes in your pantry. 💡

If you have been encouraged or challenged, please repost and further His kingdom!