Mouse Story

My friend Jeanne sent this to me. After reading it I have spent the day pondering. Will explain more after you read the story.
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers." The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house!There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose." So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

Now to my pondering. Today I was trying to get things done on my to do list and was kinda ill at the world. Mad with William for putting what I thought was too much on my list. Mad about not getting any sleep last night because I sat with my neighbor when it should have been her family there. Mad because I seem to be the one getting blamed when things aren't done on the to do list. Just mad and ill in general. Then I thought about the mouse story and how we should encourage one another. I get mad or hurt at William a lot and some of the time there is a good reason but most of the time there isn't. He will call to talk or ask me to do something and I am busy and cut him off. I complain about him to others. He is a good man. He is the first to help when someone needs it. Will give money to help someone when we can't really afford it. Offer homeless person a place to stay and a job to earn money. He may fuss at me about not spending money but he always agrees when I purchase something or if I mention I want or need something he says go buy or will buy it for me. Family members will call and vent on him if their life isn't going well but don't have time when he calls to chat. They are right there to take whatever he wants to give and feel they deserve it but if he asks a favor of them to do something.... They complain. He never asks anyone to do anything that he wouldn't do. He gets the run around from us instead of encouragement. He encourages me with my wants and dreams. He encourages everyone in whatever they want in life. I am very blessed to have the love of a man like William. He is out on the road for weeks at a time to provide for us why shouldn't I want and enjoy doing the things he ask of me without complaining or giving him the brush off? So I don't want to end up like the farmers wife, I want to learn from the mouse and help and encourage family, friends and even strangers whenever I can. I want to enjoy the love and encouragement of my husband and give him the same in return. I want to listen when he or anyone comes to me and really hear what they are saying and help where I can. Who knew you could learn something from a mouse story!