We have lived in our house for almost 19 years and I have
only seen these awful sewer roaches once, dead in our front yard. This year,
maybe because of the drought, I don’t know, but I have seen them more than I
care to admit. (Here is where you may want to stop reading) Recently these
hideous creatures have made their way in to our garage, and because we have two
cats who utilize their litter box in the garage, and because we leave the
garage door ajar for said cats, they have made their way into our house. Can
you say eeewww?!! We have found a handful of these 1 ½-2 inch invaders in our
home. Luckily we have two cats and two dogs who finally got off their duff,
started doing something productive and alerted us to these unwanted intruders. Once
we discovered their invasion and did some research on how to kill them-other
than swatting them with a broom in a panicked frenzy-I went to the store to buy
the remedy. Just a side note; when you hear your 2o year old son yelling out to
you at 11:30 at night in a troubled voice because there is a rogue 2 inch roach running around his room, you wish there were a husband lying
next to you to respond instead of you, just sayin. Now on with my story. The
spray has been sprayed and the garage door has been shut and the bugs are no
longer guests at the Evans Estate. Apparently this has not stopped my subconscious
from dreaming that they are still present in our living space, because I woke
from a dream this morning where I had been killing them with my scantily clad, flip
flop wearing foot. Another eeww! I woke up itchy this morning.
I also struggled with insomnia last night. Awakened about
2:00, I could not go back to sleep, and like many other nights, my insomnia turned
into a battle of the mind as I started ruminating on things that have hurt me,
things that concern me, things I cannot control. As I was pondering the roach
dream and the battle of insomnia, I realized they had some similarities. They
were both stealing my peace, invaders of the ugliest kind, sneaking through the
cracks into places that they did not belong. Thoughts like roaches sometimes
just appear out of nowhere and it’s hard to get rid of them.
There was a battle going on in my mind last night. Normally
when I start to ruminate about something, it takes me a minute to realize I am
doing it, and then I start to pray, giving it to God. I repeat memorized
scripture over and over in my mind. Verses like Philippians 4:8 are helpful, “Whatever
is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely
or admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, let your mind dwell on
these things.” Last night however the battle was fierce, my thoughts were coming
like bullets one after the other. I kept at it though, using scripture,
praying, asking God to give me peace and rest and sleep. Somewhere between o’dark
30 and morning light that peace came and then rest and then sleep. Thank you
Jesus! Zzzzzz
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and
the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, will guard you hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6
