The Joy of Victory…after the agony of defeat….

I have shared with you over time about our mini-wildlife refuge…and the irony that someone who is repulsed by all-things-rodent seems to have a Welcome Mat spread out for the critters.

The last two summers we have resorted to hiring a guy who is licensed to trap and he could barely keep up with the population. He told us that with a network of sheds and wooded areas so close, we would probably run out of money before we run out of customers.

After this year’s hefty investment into Trapper Dave’s 401K, we decided to proceed with having a barrier fence installed around the shed.

The fellows we hired had to dig a fairly wide trench around the perimeter and then installed heavy duty mesh into the ground and up the foundation.

I know some people are like…so what…raccoons, possums, groundhogs…live and let live….but they were tearing up the wood and digging tunnels that spilled out from underneath the shed; not to mention their little port-a-potties set up all around the area back there, They were unwelcome and invasive residents on our property.

So imagine my response this week as I watched Gary Groundhog meander across the back fence line and navigate toward the opening he had made in the corner of the shed.

I thanked God for His timing that I got to watch him poke his nose against the unyielding mesh of fence and his bewildered look toward the house…Priceless!!!

Even better, he proceeded up over the ramp to the other side.

Maybe I imagined it, but I think he looked over his shoulder as if to say, “Fine…I will just use the other entrance!”

I headed for the patio to enjoy the last of the show.

I was not disappointed.

He gave one more poke of his nose into a door that has been shut permanently and then scurried off to one of his other lairs in the neighborhood.

It felt good to taste victory in an area of past, repeated defeat.

And I may have celebrated with a degree of laughter and possibly a handful of candy corn.

I have been thinking about it this week and equating it to the barriers that we finally erect against destructive forces in our lives.

Whether it is a bad habit, a sin problem, negative thoughts, an addiction…just the stuff that keeps crawling back into our lives that we don’t want but can’t seem to get rid of.

Finally we reach a point where we say, enough is enough…and we invest whatever cost and work it takes to separate ourselves from that which has continually brought us down.

We cry out to God to help us and then we roll up our sleeves and cooperate with the work only He can do.

We labor in partnership with Him and we invest in doing what it takes to separate ourselves from whatever was separating us from Him.

So how about that day when the old temptation wanders back on the scene, pokes its nose into our business and hits that wall?

I think sometimes we see that critter rearing its head as a sign that we are back to square one, instead of rejoicing as we watch God hold us strong in the face of it and then do a happy dance as our old nemesis retreats in defeat.

It is okay to celebrate wins.

Can you see a place where God has brought you victory over a formerly occupied area?

Go ahead and give Him a high five today, do a happy dance, and have some candy corn!

I may have a handful, myself, just to celebrate with you!