It happened so fast that it took us by surprise and a little while to comprehend what had just transpired. Bud (my fella) and I were quietly enjoying a movie in my living room as my two grown kitties entertained us on the side with their usual, playful antics. Alex, my 1 ½ year old yellow cat was sniffing around the entertainment center and under the window sill garden beneath the picture window while Amber, my 4 ½ year old grey cat, lazily loomed in the cat tree house I’d recently created for them.

Suddenly, out from under the window sill garden came a mouse, whitebelly up, sliding across the hard wood floor with Alex, scrambling to gain some traction on the slick surface right behind him! Just about the time the mouse regained an upright position; Alex caught traction and with a mighty swipe of his swift paw, sent the little mouse into the corner of the room smashing it up against the baseboard. For the next fifteen minutes or so, Alex enjoyed his new-found “toy”, playfully terrorizing the mouse that had intruded our home. Amber, unimpressed with the game of “cat & mouse” watched from an amusing distance as Alex toyed with his prey.

Then he saw it, the tiny hole at the base of the staircase. He waited for his chance and then… Off the mouse took! Making it to safety beyond the fierce power of Alex’s paws!

For days Alex and Amber sniffed of the tiny square hole where the mouse had disappeared. I was admittedly aggravated with Alex for playing with his prey and then losing it before the deed of killing it was complete. The scene that played out before our own eyes that evening replayed itself numerous times in our own minds as we saw the white belly of the mouse sliding across the floor. Each replay of the scene brings giggles from both Bud and me.

Sometimes we feel just like that little mouse in life’s storms. Blow after blow comes our way and we go sliding across the floor belly up with danger scrambling right behind us. Just like that little mouse, we can find safety just when all seems hopeless when we trust in God to provide the window of opportunity for us to survive.