The Christmas Mouse

by Carolyn12.22.18

My friend Ellen had been out of town for a week when she told me that her living room was filled with boxes of Christmas décor waiting to be placed in festive array to make her home welcoming and orderly for the season. She was tired and behind in her planned schedule for such work. 

Not long after this conversation I emailed my friend to ask what the Lord had said to her about her Christmas preparations. Ellen wrote back and said, “I am the bondservant of the Lord.” Of course my friend was thinking of Mary’s humble response to the angel who told Mary she was to bring Jesus and His salvation into the world (Luke 1:26-38).

I emailed again and said what a helpful outlook that was, especially with Christmas fast approaching.

A day or so later, she wrote again to tell me that indeed her house was still not decorated and much on her “list” was not done. Ellen wrote that now, not only was she sitting in the midst of decoration boxes, but the whole of her kitchen cabinets was spread out around her, all items needing to be thoroughly cleaned and replaced on carefully scrubbed shelves. While they were away on their trip, a mouse was stirring and had crept into Ellen’s home, an unexpected and unwanted intrusion into her home and into her plans.

Oh my! I quickly answered her and said I was so sorry. I told her I was praying for peace for her as she set about on this unanticipated task that kept her from her Christmas preparations. 

Right away an email came up with her response. My friend said simply, “I am at peace. I am the bondservant of the Lord.”

In a flash God spoke to me through the response of my friend. She was the Mary of my December.

This picture was breathtaking to me as I imagined Ellen, peaceful and calm, scrubbing cabinets in the midst of chaos. And this was also an incentive to me to on the alert for any Christmas Mouse that might and probably would intrude into my house or my heart. 

As I thought I realized that my Christmas Mouse could possibly take many forms, some small, some huge.  My “mouse” could be:

• a work spoken that I was not expecting. 
• the loss of something I thought I really needed. 
• a person who hurried the gift opening or dashed other of my “perfect” Christmas plans.
• a trip to the hospital with a loved one.
• the loss of a family member through distance or distress.
• the candles that drip, the bread that won’t rise, or a Prince Charming that isn’t.

Any of these could be my Christmas Mouse. Some of them have been. A mouse often appears where you least expect it. But the inconvenient surprise never surprises God. I want to be the bondservant of the Lord, as Mary acknowledged in her angelic conversation and as Ellen embraced when she found a mouse in her house.

But how can this be, this attitude of humbly accepting the challenging situation before us, especially one that is unexpected? This is the same question Mary asked in the first chapter of Luke. 

Jill Briscoe points out the true and bracing answer.

When Mary was visited by Gabriel and told she was to have a baby—and not just a baby but the baby, the one every Jewish girl hoped she would be privileged to bear—she didn’t ask why but rather how. She could have quiet understandably have asked, “Why? And why now? Why here?” Instead, she simply asked, “How?”

 The answer to “How can I possibly do the will of God in this incredible situation?” was quiet simple, given by the angel visitor: “The Holy Spirit…” Immediately Mary responded with a glad, “I am the Lord’s servant.”

— Jill Briscoe from the book Heartstrings

By believing God’s message, relying on His Spirit, accepting the unique situation in front of them, and offering themselves to God as His servants, both Mary and Ellen gathered the harvest of peace. They saw that God meant the intrusion for good, not only for themselves but for others. Including you. Including me.

Sometimes it takes me longer than a moment to recognize a particular situation for what it is, a “mouse” and an opportunity. However, God is patient and I walk in His mercy. As do you. He will help restore our true vision of things when we draw near, either in anticipation or anguish, in repentance and rest, and ask His Holy Spirit to strengthen our souls so that we can humbly bow to Him, offering ourselves as His servants. Our humble obedience will make a difference in God’s big story and in our own story. 

So Merry Christmas and be on the alert for that Christmas Mouse!

Lord, of Life and Light, help me be alert to see intrusions as Your unique opportunities in my life to be Your servant, for my good and Your glory. Thank You, for the people who acknowledge You, especially in the hard times, and light the way for us to walk with You.  Thank You for the everlasting love that sent Jesus to us to be our Savior, our Friend and our Shepherd. We come in His name with glad and thankful hearts, offering ourselves to You Who first loved us. Amen

Singing His love, mercy and grace,

Carolyn