Game of Cat and Mouse

This is not a picture of Grace, but it looks a lot like her.
Sorry didn't have my camera ready when this all happened.

   

 Last night I was sitting on my bed (my only place to sit in my room where I stay) and watching a Christmas movie. When my cat Grace came in the room, and jumped up on my bed. This is normal so I didn't think much of it, till I looked at her, and she had a big fat mouse in her mouth. I screamed. Which scared her, and she dropped the mouse, which was still alive, and it ran off the bed, and somewhere in my room. I've had my cat Grace for over two years now, and I've never seen her catch anything before, except play with her toys. Thankfully I've never had a mouse in my motorhome, nor in my home in Kenmare. 

    I was pretty sure this was gonna be a sleepless night for me. Now I had a live mouse somewhere in my room. Ugh! I asked the lady I'm staying with if she had any traps. She found me two, and I set them in places where a mouse can get, but not my cat. I laid down for a hopeful night of sleep. 

   Again at 3 a.m. Grace brought me her wonderful prize onto my bed. I got to hand it to her, she doesn't have any front claws, but she's catching it anyway. This time, I sat up, and turned on the light, just in time to see the mouse run across my bed and jump onto the floor, and disappear again. Grace was right on it, and sat staring at my purse which was on the floor in the corner. I went over and picked up my purse and sure enough, Fat Mouse was under neath. Now exposed, it ran towards the door, and then under the door and out into the hallway and into the laundry room. That was my last sighting for the night (or morning).

   I got to thinking, I wonder if Grace just thinks this is just an automatic toy, and what a fun game of Catch and Release. She hasn't seemed to figure out that the goal is to kill it. And she's not hungry, as she's well fed. She's never been outside a day in her life, always been an indoor cat, and never been in a place that had a live mouse before. But for me, this is not a game. This is all out, Kill the Mouse! Mice are dirty, carry disease, chew up and make a mess of things, and are not welcome inside the house. I know they're a source of food for a large number of animals, but all those animals are outdoors, where the mouse belongs. This mouse somehow found it's way indoors, and thought it was safe. But now has fallen victim to a confused cat's game of catch and release. I'm hoping one of my traps work!

    Sometimes we 'play' with things that really should be killed in our life. We catch them and then let them go, just to see if we can catch it again. We're really playing with something we should be killing on first sight of it. Like bitterness, resentment, wrath, etc. Just don't catch it and let it go again, only to want to catch it again, while in the mean time that thing is wrecking havoc destroying things that are good in your life. 

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior." Eph 4:31 NLT