Pesky Little Foxes

I don't have a big enough zoom so you're just going to have to take my word on this one:

There is a fox asleep on the roof of an extension that you can see from my living room window. I don't even think it would be visible if they hadn't taken that tree down! I saw it this morning and thought it was kinda sweet how it hides away up there until it is safe to come out at night.

WRONG. Not sweet, at all.

Today I made a new friend from Wales. (Soon I am going to tell you just how absolutely brilliant and blessed the Welsh are. Not my words but the message of a novelty apron located in an Exeter gift shop.) She came with a dear friend from Switzerland for a brief but wonderful visit, on their way back from that conference I mentioned the other day - the one with all the miracles. It was great, we got to talk about just how fabulous God is! I really appreciated the injection of enthusiasm as, though I do know it's true in a really real way, recently I have found it a bit tougher to keep that consistent throughout the day (it's like this spring weather - glorious but unreliable). In particular, I get more of a despondent cow as the day draws to a close... you may have noticed by my past few evening blogs!

So. Standard truth that we should get enough sleep to function properly physically and emotionally. Standard but IMPORTANT.

I commented to the Welsh lady about how those things (which we all have) that niggle at my peace had been niggling a bit more recently and she said something about them being like foxes. I can't remember verbatim but I reckon the general idea was something to do with how they cause mild destruction, perhaps just making a whole load of noise when you want to sleep or attacking the chickens/bins. Foxes aren't deadly lions are they, they just aren't particularly helpful either.

I didn't think all this at first, or even remember the sleeping fox I saw that morning. I actually thought, "that's strange, did I dream about foxes?" because the notion of "pesky foxes" rang a bell somewhere in the back of my mind. Then I remembered... I was reading about then in the bible not two days before!

This is the passage, you can find it in Song of Songs:

"Catch all the foxes,
those little foxes,
before they ruin the vineyard of love,
for the grapevines are blossoming!"

This is from a whole chapter about springtime that my friend had told me about because she knew I was excited by the "new beginning-ness" of spring (seasons, how can one not Analogise That!?). It's a love poem/anthology of love poems and, what with me not having a "lover", I read it like Jesus is my boyfriend. Well, I try. Sometimes I read it for the hilarity of the metaphors.

Those foxes. They're a perfect description of how actually there is all this wonderful love and good things blossoming right now (despite, nay including the fact I have to write a dissertation type project in 5 days!) yet, somehow, an imperfect shadow occasionally falls over it. They sleep harmlessly enough in the light but they still are skulking about threatening and encroaching upon peace whenever they are allowed... every evening attempting to take over and ruin the vineyard.

Does anyone else have pesky little foxes trying to rain on their parade? How are we gonna catch 'em? The passage wasn't so clear on that and I'm pretty sure the metaphor doesn't extend to actual shot guns and 4-by-4's...