Mothballs and Rabbits

Don’t be fooled because he’s cute.

It can be said about some guys I’ve dated. It can be said about the rabbit in my yard. But behind that cute and harmless exterior lies the spirit of destruction. I know because I saw my daisies the day after the rabbit had his way with them. They were chewed up senseless, destroyed, flat lined, unressuscitatable.

My saga with the rabbit began exactly one month ago. I wanted to beautify the exterior of my home, and on a whim, bought a few daisies at my favorite ACE hardware store. You can’t screw it up, I was told.  Just make a hole in the ground, put the flower in, and water daily.

I did that. And the flowers blossomed. I had a total of 7 flowers and I couldn’t have been prouder if I had born them myself.

Then one morning I woke up with a feeling that something wasn’t right. It didn’t take long to find out that my hunch was correct. I stepped out into the muggy June morning and was faced with the aftermath of destruction. I didn’t know what had ravaged my daisies at first. So I called home.

“It’s a rabbit”, my mom declared. I didn’t believe her. How could a wonderfully cute and furry little creature cause this much damage? She must be exaggerating. And then I saw him prancing around my yard like nothing had happened. I caught him by surprise. I could see it in his eyes. He stopped in his tracks for a whole 5 seconds then took off hopping into the trees.

I was livid. Irate. Angry. Devastated. My entire world was turned upside down. How could a rabbit be one of the 6 axis of evil?

I called home again. Was there anything I could do to resolve the problem without having to purchase a weapon?

“Mothballs” my mother said. Mothballs? I mused….Do they still make them in this country? I found them at Walmart.

Two days later my whole neighborhood knew I had mothballs. I started to worry the local police department would give me a citation for bad odor. But the rabbit became scarce. It could have also been the glare in my eyes, the threat in my tone, but I’m pretty sure it was just the smell of the little white pellets surrounding my plants.

The mothballs stayed for 2 weeks. One day I came home from work and looked at the plants. They seemed healthy and thriving. I’d had enough of the smell. I went around and removed every tiny mothball. I smiled to myself. Surely by now I had ridded myself of the wicked little rabbit once and for all.

My glee lasted for exactly 24 hours, until I drove home from work at exactly 12:30am yesterday morning. My headlights hit the pavement, and I saw a furry little creature positioned in front of my house, about 2 feet from my blossoming flowers.

Something happened in my brain. Next thing I knew I was in and out of the garage with the bag of mothballs faster than a mouse on speed. I didn’t think about how much my flower bed will stick out at my next BBQ. I didn’t care if the entire neighborhood figured out  I’m at war with a rabbit. I simply determined I would not be destroyed by a sly little fox dressed in a cute rabbit’s coat.

If you’re a Christian please hear this loud and clear. The devil is like a sly little rabbit. He is the great deceiver who dresses himself as the angel of light and will ravage you faster than you can say “go”.  You cannot mess with him. You cannot reason with him. All you can do is guard against him. And if you ever think you’re safe and can let your guard down, think again. He doesn’t let up, and he won’t stop trying.

But God promises protection from the evil one. This protection is in His word and through faith in Christ’s work. The Christian’s version of mothballs is the armor of God in Ephesians 6. Believe me, others will think you stick out when you wear it. They won’t get it. They will try to get you to remove it. Don’t. This is warfare. Get ready for battle.

The only difference is that I can tell you who wins this war. And it is not that sick little rabbit.

Are you ready for battle?

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