Guidelines: Little Traps

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By Simon Ambit

At the edge of our yard sits a small shed. Inside of this little wooden abode lives our lawn mower and his yard maintenance cousins, the rakes, the shovels, the tree loppers and his grumpy Uncle, Husqvarna the chainsaw. In the corner of the shed lies a tote full of dog food. In an effort to keep the mice out of the shed and the dog food, it is a family rule that we always leave the shed door closed. As fate would have it, one of the youngsters left the shed door open overnight one night and what do you think we found in the shed? Signs of a mouse!

I believe that as neighbors we should all do our best to get along. However, when it comes to mice trying to move in next door, I exercise one of the earliest of doctrines placed before all of mankind. In the Book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 26, it reads, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” So, we took it upon ourselves to usurp dominion over that creeping little mouse and we did so in the form of peanut butter coated mouse traps.

The plan worked successfully! The peanut buttery temptation was just too much for the mouse and it found itself caught in the trap that first night. The next morning, the mouse was properly disposed of and I am happy to report that the shed has since remained rodent free.

In thinking about the mouse and the trap, I want to ask a question. In what ways does the world set out traps for us? Hopefully, none of us will ever be walking through the woods and get caught in a physical trap. But, what about the jaws of debt; is it a trap to purchase something when we know we cannot afford the loan payments? Can we get ensnared by the idealistic circles in our lives telling us that we have to dress a certain way or fit into a certain mold? What about the pitfall of complacency, which seems to be digging a hole and tossing the sacredness of marriage and family aside?

I believe in optimism and I know that at times we must adjust our sales to catch the wind. I also know that my grandparents lived and died very much in love with one another. And I believe they were 100% as happy as they could ever be, simply because they lived within their means. They treated everyone with kindness, they were comfortable with whom they were, and they honored and strengthened good moral values. We cannot allow those simple truths to blow away on the winds of change.

Life is good; enjoy it to the fullest by avoiding the traps of the world.

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