Preposterous Puddle

I grew up with a gravel driveway, so I had the benefit of tough feet and miniature ponds to sail my makeshift boats in after a really hard rain. These potholes that collected the water would be so big that I could easily pretend that the ship I made out of tree bark and rhododendron leaves was really sailing on high seas. No matter how big those puddles were though, if the storm was followed by a hot day, they would quickly disappear.

Everyone from my generation knows about Barney, and Elmo, and Zaboomafoo, but very few were fortunate enough to be introduced to Mouse and Mole. They're basically British, best friends who, you guessed it, are a mouse and a mole. Mouse is meant to be the more practical, logical one of the two, and Mole...well he's just a bit more vapid and silly. He's sweet, but really ridiculous too. One day, while out on a walk after a long, hard rain, Mouse comes across the perfect walking stick. He decides to take it home and use it on all of his walks thereafter. "In time," he says, "it will become smooth and worn. It's head will fit the shape of my paw." Mole looks down and notices his rain boots immersed in a puddle. "And I like this puddle! Splish, splash, splosh! What about my puddle?...I shall take my puddle home and take him on lots of walks!" to which Mouse replies, "You can't take a puddle home! That's preposterous!" Mole breaks down into tears immediately. "I know!" he cries. "It's not fair!" Mouse tries to console his friend and tells him to simply enjoy the puddle while he can, but it isn't enough. Mole wants to take his puddle home.

Mouse, being the good friend/problem solver that he is, tells Mole to stay put and hurries home. Shortly after, he returns with a glass jar and 2 spoons. The two friends work together to safely deposit the entirety of Mole's puddle into the glass jar. After collecting the puddle, Mouse and Mole head home but soon run into their kind, but brutally honest friend, Rat. "What's that you've got in your jam jar, Mole? A minnow, perhaps?" Mole smiles and shakes his head before proudly responding with, "It's a puddle, Rat!" Rat's nose scrunches up as a he lets out a low snort of a laugh. "A puddle! In a jar! How preposterous!" Embarrassed and annoyed, Mole waits for Rat to ride off on his bike before dumping his puddle back onto the wet, muddy ground.

While you were reading about this episode of Mouse and Mole, did you think Mole was being preposterous or could you completely understand where he was coming from? I noticed the other day, after pulling up this episode on youtube for my baby to watch, that for the first time, I was fully empathetic with Mole. Up until then, however, I couldn't understand him. It seems obvious that puddles are temporary things that could serve no purpose if put into a jar and taken home. They're part of a natural cycle that allows for the earth to stay clean and clear with healthy vegetation and wildlife, so yes, they're relevant...but..don't put them on your shelf.

Then I realized, I have SO many puddles on my shelf. They're lining my cupboards, stacked in my closet, shoved under my bed, tucked in my pockets and purses, and floating somewhere in "the cloud." And I just now realized how well that term fits into this analogy. Are you tracking with me? I'm talking about stuff that I have and I've "earned" and I've built into my life/identity. Stuff in general. Because that's all it really is, just stuff. But this stuff matters to me and I want to take it home with me. Home being, my final rest in true life after this shadow of reality. I don't actually walk around thinking, "my favorite pair of jeans better be in my wardrobe in heaven." but I live that way. I snarl at my baby all the time for rubbing his hands in his food and then smacking me on the leg. Why do those pants matter? I will die someday, and odds are, they won't fit me for the final half of my life. But let's assume they did. I'm not going to be buried in them. And I'm most likely not going to be resurrected in them either.

I can get so stressed out going to T.J. Maxx and World Market because I know, deep down, there's a style, a truly fantastic style, that I'm capable of implementing in my home if I just had the finances to support it. I tell myself I could be such a good artist if I could afford the right paint supplies and some quality classes. Do not get me started on how great my physique could be if I were able to afford a trainer and personal chef. I fantasize about the possibilities that life could hold if only everything in the universe would cooperate.

Isn't it funny how we can be so dissatisfied with our circumstances and still so attached?

Change is in the wind for our little family. I know I've said this before. But it's made me hyperaware of my "needs" and priorities. Similarly to, "what would you take with you if your house was on fire and you only had five seconds?" I've started to think about what matters to me most in this life. Not to get cliché and hokey on you guys, but there really is a limit to my love of everything I own. Yes, I would be so sad if my favorite jeans were lost, but I'd give them away myself if promised a better pair. I want so badly to live life in a way that puts me in a constant state of awareness that this is my reality. Everything I possess, whether materially or physically or relationally, will someday be replaced by something far, far greater. Part of me feels guilty typing that out because you want to have a golden, righteous heart when it comes to living for your Creator. You want to live for Him because you love Him, not because you want to get something out of Him. But I think that this is a stepping stone I, in my finite state, have to take in order to reach that point. I've got to be ok with letting go of puddles on earth before I can fully appreciate the living water of Life.

I like to organize and clean. It's cathartic for me on days when I feel overwhelmed or just plain bored. I've started getting rid of the stuff I "don't need" and amazingly, I've found that pretty much any and everything can go. We aren't living with bare walls yet. I like a cozy, snug environment. But I have a feeling that we will reach that point someday in the near future. This post is not a promotion for minimal living. I enjoy a good piece of art and throw pillow as much as any one, but enjoy your puddles while you can and don't get too stressed out if they evaporate with out warning. They were made to, remember?