It was time for lunch in beautiful downtown Fredericksburg.  I was working, completely oblivious to the time. Often my growling stomach is the only thing that can make me break focus, get my eyes off my computer, and get me away from my desk. When the weather was nice, I would take my lunch break by walking to get a sandwich at the historic sandwich shop on the corner a couple of blocks away from my office.

The walk to the corner was uneventful.  However, after I got my lunch and was headed back, I was startled by movement in my peripheral vision.

 I’d lived in Virginia for a few years at this point, but I could still be surprised by the east coast critters.  I hadn’t yet seen a “live” raccoon.  Yes, sadly I’d seen evidence of the animals on the road and heard some very entertaining stories about the little rascals, but I had not witnessed one firsthand.

The parking lot of my office backed up against the Rappahannock River.  Unless there was an exceptional amount of rain and the river was running high, there was an embankment directly behind the parking lot leading down to the river.  That side of the parking lot had a sidewalk, curb, gutter, and an open storm drain built into the curb to drain excess water runoff from the parking lot.

There, in the opening of the storm drain, was a raccoon.  Although his body was inside the drain, his head, shoulders, arms, and hands were poking through.  He had a square, styrofoam, “to-go” box in his hands that he was trying to pull into the opening with him.   The box, as he held it in a vertical position, was slightly too large to fit into the gutter opening. I stood there for about five minutes watching him as he tried to get the container through the hole. In fact, while I stood there watching him, a woman and her son, as well as a couple more pedestrians, stopped to watch. 

All Mr. Racoon needed to do was set the box down flat and scoot it in, but he kept trying and trying to do it his way, the way that didn’t work.  The raccoon tugged, pulled, crunched, and crushed that box until he finally got the box into the opening.  However, by the time he had it inside the drain with him, the box was utterly destroyed. Whatever food it had held was now scattered everywhere. 

I can see myself in that raccoon.  I will be the first to admit that my way isn’t always the best way. Sometimes all I need to do is put the problem down for a minute to find the problem might not be as difficult as I initially thought. I can be so laser-focused on solving a problem my way that I can be blinded to a much more obvious solution, a solution that might actually work better and get a better result. 

When I was young and trying to figure out something “important,” my mom would tell me to sleep on it because things always looked better in the morning.  That was her way of telling me to put the box down for a minute and look at it with fresh eyes.  Great advice.  Too bad I don’t speak raccoon.

Wishing you joy and peace,

Lorrie

James 1:5 – But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Philippians 4:6 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.