An Unexpected Lesson from The Squirrels in My Attic
A true story of perseverance and courage
Hi friend!
How was this past month for you? Busy? Eventful? Full of squirrels? Yeah, me too.
I was getting my oldest daughter ready for bed one evening and we heard some unusual noises coming from her wall. I didn't want to believe what I thought those noises were, so I just kind of played dumb at first. But after ruling out it was the dogs making the noise or any other noise — it became more obvious scurrying and scratching and thumping. Upon further investigation they found the culprit — squirrels.
We called the guy to set some traps and sure enough, within a couple of hours, a squirrel has made its way in the trap (don’t worry, no squirrels were harmed, they were trapped in a cage then released on a farm to roam free.)
Imagine my surprise when the squirrel guy comes and tells me that the squirrel in the trap was a very pregnant female and just days, if not hours away from giving birth! At that moment I was extremely thankful that those little squirrel babies were not going to be had in our attic.
Fast forward 2-3 days, and we don't hear any noises, so we think that we got the momma squirrel and there's no more squirrels in our attic —until the next morning. It's rainy and foggy and the day he is supposed to come take the traps. I'm upstairs in my daughter’s room and I hear those same noises, the type of unwelcome noises that you don't really want to hear coming from your attic or anywhere inside your home.
So why do I share this with you, why am I talking at length about squirrels in my attic and unwelcome visitors taking up space?
I think we can see squirrels as those unwelcome thoughts that we tend to entertain in our mind whether on purpose or by accident. I’m talking about the thoughts that consume us — zapping our mental energy. (Trust me, I’ve thought way too much about squirrels the past few weeks).
It starts as a passing thought, maybe about us or someone else, but if we start to entertain these negative thoughts, they have the potential to start to make themselves at home and inhabit our attic, or our mind.
Squirrels are tricky creatures because they don’t always make noise, and you only really can hear them when they are actively nesting and moving about. The negative thoughts that we allow to enter our mind can sit there dormant at first, but over time they will become more active and start to make a bigger fuss. When we don't believe the truth of who we are and who God says we are, we are giving squirrels access to our attic.
And just like the squirrel we caught that was about to multiply, we, too, run the risk of having negative thoughts take hold and quickly multiply. Unless we have a specific plan to handle these types of thoughts, they can easy start to takeover if we are not careful.
The funny or not so funny thing, depending on how you want to look at it, is the previous owners had these same issues before. For whatever reason, squirrels seem determined to live in our attic.
I was not surprised the other night to see a squirrel approach the now repaired area on our roof, but I was surprised to see him continue up our roof and disappear…
Given their previous display of tenacity, I’m pretty sure seeing their front door boarded up only made them more determined to somehow find their way in.1
I'm reminded of this verse in Matthew:
Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. Matthew 12:45 NIV
When we drive out a negative thought or a false belief about ourselves — we cannot be surprised when those other ideas and thoughts fight to come back into our mind and take space. The very words, “captive” and “make obedient” should tell us that these pesky thoughts are going to put up a fight, so we better have a plan in place.2
So, how can we prevent this from happening? What is the solution? The squirrel guy told us there's an easy solution to stop having squirrels in our attic, we have to stop giving them access to our roof. This same idea of setting up boundaries and taking preventative measures applies to our thought life as well.
Friends, we have to trim our trees — literally and metaphorically. We have to take every single thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. No excuse, we can't afford to ignore or try to pretend that it's not possible. We need to create time and space to sit in silence and listen. We listen for the noise. We listen for God. We listen for that next step that God is asking us to take.
There are many similarities between our enemy and my current enemy — squirrels. When we seal off an access point to our minds, that's not the end. We have to constantly be on alert for these thoughts and know that our enemy prowls like a lion, seeking to devour.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NIV
I cannot tell you how alert I have been lately whenever I’m in my daughter’s room just trying to listen for anything that might sound like an unwanted noise coming from an unwelcome visitor.3
To help us stay alert and watchful we need to be constantly renewing our minds in the Word of God. Saturating ourselves in scripture must come first, and then we can start incorporating other spiritual disciplines to help armor ourselves against the attacks of the enemy — including the squirrels that are wanting to enter our attic and take up space.
So how can I make my squirrel story relevant for you (TL;DR)
Be on the lookout for squirrels, which are the unwelcome unwanted thoughts that are fighting to take up space and live in your mind.
Eradicate and remove your negative thoughts before they multiply or increase in number.
Trim your trees, take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. Realize that you do have the power to control your thoughts and you can determine what lives in your attic.
Be diligent. Be alert. Be watchful. Stay focused on God’s word. Pay attention to what God is asking you to do and what He's calling you to do in the current season you're in.
Questions for Reflection:
What are your squirrels?
How can you trim your trees and eliminate access to your roof?
What does it look like for you to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ?
Enough about squirrels — let’s talk about writing! Now for an exciting offer that I cannot believe that I get to be a part of!
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Note: Cart opens to purchase bundle starting tomorrow, so be sure to come back to this email, save the link below, and do what you got to do so you do not miss this opportunity! Or click link below to sign-up to get another email with bundle access tomorrow!4
And this offer is only available May 1st- 7th. So, in my cheesiest infomercial voice, “Hurry! Don’t Delay” and snag your bundle of writer goodies for 96% off the retail price!
And speaking of courageous writers…
I’m so excited to announce that an essay I wrote will be published in the upcoming edition of Calla Press! It’s always such a blessing to come together with other writers and share our words to encourage others. Cheers to my fellow writer friends also featured in this edition of Calla Press Literary Journal. You can preorder the journal here.
And speaking of coming together with others to share your story…
I want to officially announce my involvement once again in the upcoming sequel to The Artist Haven. Introducing Courageous Voices Unlocked: Stories to Move From Brokenness to Freedom.
But this isn’t about me sharing my story, it’s an opportunity for you to do the same. See below the note from Carmel, the lead-author on this project:
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So, there you have it, to sum up this newsletter, I talked about squirrels, taking our thoughts captive, an exclusive deal for the courageous writer (grab the bundle here) and shared an invitation for you to be a courageous writer and share your story of hope and healing.
Until next time, I’m cheering you on!
An update, we found another hole, a bigger one and at the time of this email we are in round 2 of setting up traps. rinse. repeat.
When they came to repair the first hole, they noticed another place that “might” be big enough for a squirrel to get through… guess we should have acted sooner. 🤦♀️
When she came into our room saying she heard the “noises” again I knew it was bad news.
I will be sending out another email in a few days once you are able to officially purchase this bundle because it’s too good not to share.