The little red fox passing through the backyard stole our guest’s flipflop. Bizarre. It was a small thing, but it changed the trajectory of the rest of the day. Amazing how often the small things of our day add up to steal our joy.
The fox deal really was inexplicable. The fox appeared out of nowhere in the early morning moonlight, noticed the flipflops laying in the grass next to the volleyball court, then ran off with one of them. Our guest watched with disbelief as her footwear for the day suddenly changed. She had no thought of needing to find extra shoes on that Wednesday, and suddenly, she had one more thing on her to-do list.
There are applications of this fox story to my life, and probably yours. Consider how foxes are presented in Song of Solomon: “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.” (Song of Solomon 2:15, ESV) It is the little foxes that steal away our joy, that spoil good things going on in our lives. In the case of the Song of Solomon, the little foxes in life are impacting a relationship. Notice that the focus is on the little things, not just the big, looming crises.[1]
I have found that I quickly identify the big issues in life and notice how they impact me tangibly and emotionally. It is the little foxes in life that creep in and steal my joy a flipflop at a time. The flat tire. Oversleeping. Mustard on my favorite shirt. Lunch plans with a friend fell through. A blah day at work. Little foxes—but they keep stealing our joy, bit by bit, in nearly imperceptible ways. And then we feel grumpy, stressed, or fatigued—but do not seem to know why.
Naming the Foxes
We need to name the little foxes of our day. Rather than allowing the negatives to build up and have power over our emotional well-being, we need to honestly see what is stealing our joy. When we name the foxes, when we delineate what is deflating our day, we are able to bring these things to Jesus. We are able to ask Him to “catch the foxes for us,” to bind up the multitude of small things tearing us apart. It is at that point that we are looking to Jesus, focused on Him rather than staring at the theft of another flipflop.
We often ignore the little foxes of our day—but they add up and make us grumpy, seemingly without reason. Let’s honestly face our foxes, name them, and find perspective when we take those things to Jesus. Our friends and family will undoubtedly appreciate it.
[1] Thank you to Jason Eddy of PIR Ministries for highlighting this Song of Solomon passage and how little foxes steal joy in our lives.