Mouse poop could only mean one thing. We had mice. And of course I didn’t want anyone to know. What would people think if they knew I had mice? Would they think I had a dirty house?
A visit from the exterminator helped the problem. We had an opening in the garage that allowed the mice to gain entrance into the house. Once we plugged up the opening, the problem was solved. No more mice.
Several months later I received a phone call that no mom wants to receive. “My daughter had such a fun play date at your house earlier this week. You know they played hairdresser? I found out my daughter has lice and probably gave it to your daughter. You better check her.” What? Sure enough, my daughter caught head lice.
And of course I didn’t want anyone to know. What would people think if they knew my child had head lice? Would they think my child was dirty?
A call to the pediatrician helped the problem. Lice actually prefer clean hair. And with the window of opportunity open (a shared hairbrush), they easily entered my daughter’s scalp. Once they were there they were not easy to get rid of. It took lots hard work.
After the lice incident, I forwarded a funny blog post I’d found on head lice to the mom of the other girl. The post was laced with profanity, and we were both Christians. But I found the post amusing, so I joked, “I think profanity is allowed in cases of head lice.”
The mom responded to my email. “It was cute but no swearing - that means Satan has a hold of my mouth/heart” Then, as if to soften the blow she added, “Trust me I have plenty of other vices.”
Vices? It’s embarrassing enough to have mice or lice. But now someone knows about my vice! Of course I don’t want anyone to know. What would people think if they knew about my vices? Would they think I had a dirty mind?
Like with the mice, an opening allowed sin in my heart. Like with lice, an opportunity (such as a bad attitude) allowed the vice to easily enter my heart. And as in both situations, vices are not easy to get rid of! It requires lots of hard work.
In this case, we need to focus on God. We need to pray for forgiveness for the vice. We need to find Bible verse to support us. Finally, we can enlist the help of an accountability partner. Like the exterminator or pediatrician, having another person involved can help keep us on the right track and encourage us.
Whether you have mices, lices or vices, I encourage you today not to feel overwhelmed, or concerned about what others might think. Instead focus on getting rid of your problem, and enlisting the help of a support system.
Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com
3 comments:
amen
Read this post right after losing my temper over a stupid driver. Well, at least someone I thought was being inconsiderate. One of my vices... Following basic driving courtesy. Of course, people are rude to me on purpose and don't care about others when they are driving, yet my driving errors are simply mistakes that should automatically be forgiven and forgotten. Funny how my vices sometimes cause me to have a double-standard. Very convicting and I believe Holy Spirit inspired post.
Wow. Thank you! I wrote this post a long time ago, but never had the nerve to post it because...well it shared some stuff I didn't want to share. But I go the nerve today...Holy Spirit inspired indeed.
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