Categories: uncategorized
Date: 14 May 2007 17:40:30
Ha! Take that, Screwtape. I've got God on my side and you're not going to win.
Mind you, I'd really rather you didn't take that as a challenge to do your worst, cos I'd really rather you gave up right now. But I've got God on my side and you're not going to win.
OK, so you sniggered up your sleeve when my car failed its MOT and looked like being out of action all weekend and presented me with a bill far outreaching my current bank balance. But you reckoned without my wonderful garage people who managed to get the part they needed extra speedily so that I was only without my car for a day; they felt so sorry for me having nothing to show for the great expense I was incurring so they gave me a voucher for a free car wash to make up for it; and a letter arrived to confirm that the Post Office had finally admitted defeat over our wrangling with them and were willing to let me have my little bonus nest-egg from Dad (the one that's all mine and not shared with the siblings and thus accessible immediately) which just covered the cost of the car.
Defeated on that one, you took advantage of us going to church in a rush and not closing a door properly to tempt Charlie Cat into tackling the new gerbil cage. We came home to find sawdust everywhere, a cat-and-gerbil chase going on between Charlie and Ratty with Ratty cornered and facing his doom and no sign of Mousie to be had at all. But again you failed cos God loves gerbils too. I stepped inside the door and swept Ratty up into my open hand where he sat safe and sound while Smudgelet relocated Charlie into a bedroom. I put Ratty safely in his cage to recover but then faced the dilemma of finding Mousie. Surely Charlie hadn't eaten him!
All the internal doors had been left open except the bedroom doors. How would we ever track him down? We couldn't keep Charlie locked up for ever, yet it was obvious that he'd be the first to find our missing gerbil. A quick and fervent prayer... and what do you know? Smudgelet goes into the lounge and shouts "Mum, under the piano! I saw him!" and sure enough, there he is. It was a bit of a challenge to catch him without frightening or hurting him too much, but catch him we did and he's now safe and sound with Ratty. The cage is relocated to my bedroom where they'll be safe. I won't get any sleep, mind, but it's worth it to know that they're out of Charlie's reach. And after a night of being rather shaken and subdued, this morning they have eaten some food and nibbled a cardboard tube so I think they're going to survive their rather shocking adventure.
And if God cares about two small gerbils (and who wouldn't? They are rather lovely!) then he's got to be holding my sons and me in the palm of his hand too! So I'll trust him to guide us on Saturday and do with the interview what He will.