Remember this guy?
For the last 2 days I’ve felt a lot like him. Allow me to explain. I’m not talking about wanting to run off and live in the woods (although I’m sure the thought sounds tempting for most pastors from time to time.). I’m talking about having to learn how to take care of helpless little, furry creatures like this guy:
He showed up 2 days ago—terrified and cornered by our 3 Labrador Retrievers. He’s an ‘adolescent’ raccoon—just past the ‘baby’ stage actually. In fact, he was attempting to make nice with the dogs who were having none of it. They were only interested in tearing him apart. When I went to see what all the barking was about I noticed that he (‘Shadow,’ as the kids named him) was just a few inches outside the invisible fence. That’s the only reason he was still alive. I backed the dogs down (and they all just sat there like good boys and girls) and they immediately transformed into sweat little cherubs. Then, what to do next? The kids were already on to me and had come out to discover their new pet so I couldn’t hit it in the head with a shovel and declare that I had found a ‘dead’ raccoon.
I know. I know. Some of you have already called PETA on me and they should arrive within the hour to protest the Singleton home and spread the story of the ‘killer pastor.’ I’m just thinking you might want to hold off a bit on all that though. I didn’t kill Shadow—I just thought about it for a fleeting, rabies induced, deptheria influenced moment. Now, on with the story.
We called all over the planet trying to find out what to do with a young raccoon, but, as it turns out, most agencies have phone numbers but no actual live person to talk to and all the ‘googled’ resources began something like,
Query: What to do with an injured raccoon?
Results: DON’T TOUCH IT, YOU IDIOT!
That wasn’t really helpful. I don’t want my kids growing up thinking their dad is a heartless animal killer! Those stories tend to morph over time. By the time certain people got a hold of it the murder case of Bambi would be reopened with me as the primary suspect. Ridiculous. Everyone knows my friend, Art TerKeurst killed Bambi, duh!
Back to the story.
After putting Shadow in one of our dog kennels and feeding him (yes, without touching him), we decided (based on the little we discovered about raccoons) that he was nothing more than a curious adolescent who wandered too far from home. As a result, we walked him about a quarter mile away and released him. I really think Shadow will be fine. If you think about it. Say a little prayer for Shadow. The kids are already talking about him as though he was a dog we had for 15 years.
Now, all that was the day before yesterday, which makes what happened yesterday around 5:00 pm seem like waaaay more than a coincidence. Seriously, it will blow you mind and you will probably agree that God is trying to tell me something. Hey, thick as I am, I even think I know what it is.
I’ll tell you what happened and what God is doing tomorrow.
More pictures of Shadow…enjoy:
