Raccoons on the roof

In our old apartment in Dallas, we lived near the dumpster. Not close enough to smell it, but close enough to hear the trash truck beep as it backed up to lift the sucker. Also close enough to worry that our parked cars were going to get hit by said truck. Oddly enough, living near that dumpster provided us with a small measure of enjoyment.

The apartment complex was bordered on one side by a small creek, and was in a relatively low traffic area. Put those two together, and you get critters. One such critter? Raccoons. And since we didn't have to clean up the mess they made around the dumpster, we had a great time watching them. And, I'll admit, we occasionally gave them leftovers we didn't want. (Not really moldy ones, ones from restaurants that we had just visited.) And since the management of our apartment complex was two ladies who didn't like us and were not very nice, we also thrilled at the thought of them having to pick up the trash. Ok, not very Christian behavior, but there it is.

So when we moved to Tulsa, we were a little sad at losing our little furry friends. We actually watched one hoist another into the dumpster. The guy who went in? He threw food out for his buddy. Such teamwork from wild animals is a little astounding. And then again, not so astonishing after all. Chad and I have been reading about the Creation for our Bible study, and having reread that age old story, maybe it isn't such a shock after all that those little bandits were looking out for each other.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago. Chad and I were sitting on the couch, watching TV like we do every night. Being on the second floor, our apartment has skylights in the sunroom (really, not as swanky as I make it sound). I heard a scratching noise coming from that direction, and wondered if one of those horror movie monsters was coming for me. (Chad makes me watch those, and I despise them.) He didn't hear it, so I figured it was my imagination, until a few moments later when it happened again. This time we both heard it, and investigated. It took a little work, but we quickly found the source of the noise-raccoons playing on our skylights. Now we hear them several times a week.

It seems that God will provide you with ANYTHING. Even raccoons.

P.S. It might not be a coincidence that this apartment is also not far from the dumpster, and also backs up to a creek.