mr. squirrel goes to church

so cat calls me yesterday and tells me she's been in the sanctuary taking pictures of the stained-glass windows for dave and found a squirrel there. she has to leave for work but if i get bored she thinks he'd like to get out. so on my way to the brownhouse to do some coursework, i figure this is one of those funny things in life that i shouldn't miss.

i go in to scope it out and sure enough, there he is, standing still as a statue near where the altar would be. so i go to the side exit door which opens to the courtyard and prop it open with a stick. what proceeded was not as franciscan as preaching to the squirrel but i hope it helped him out.

i chased him around for just a few minutes. he ran toward the front of the church building and i pursued him though the art displays. it was like when you're trying to catch up with your mom in the grocery store and you keep seeing her as you both head the same direction at opposite ends of the aisles. cereal. mom. canned beets. mom. t.v. dinners. mom.

anyway, i finally got him heading back toward the exit and got very close to him. about a foot away and cornered him so that his only escape was the door. and it worked! he shot back out into the sunshine and to the trees and his little squirrel buddies.

it was pretty funny seeing this little squirrel bouncing around in that huge, dark and aged church building. st. francis, and st. elizabeth, and Jesus watching from stained-glass portals as i chase him around, bounding up and down aisles, sliding across wooden floors. it was really surprising to me that it only took a few minutes.

one thing i noticed about this squirrel though, was that he was not as skiddish as the squirrels outside. not jittery or crazy-robo-fast. he almost looked tired, or sick, or old. he let me get really close to him a couple times too.

this is one of those little experiences in life that i'm sure is veiling some life lesson or spiritual insight...what it is i don't know.