Sylvester Syndrome

Sylvester Syndrome

Earlier last year, in preparation for our summer vacation, I purchased a set of Looney Tunes DVDs for us to watch in the van to help pass the long hours of driving that would go along with the trip. I would like to say I purchased them for the children, but in reality they were mostly for me. The crazy antics of Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, and Foghorn Leghorn still tickle my funny bone and make me laugh out loud. I also enjoy the mischievous merriment of Sylvester and Tweety. However, I have always been puzzled as to why that good-sized cat would exert so much energy chasing that tiny little speck of a bird. Tweety in no way would make a meal for Sylvester. In fact, I doubt he would even qualify as an appetizer. At my best estimate, Tweety’s head makes up by far the largest majority of his total body mass. There surely isn’t more than 10% of that bird that is edible. Nonetheless, Sylvester repeatedly endures such abuse as being mauled by Butch the bulldog, being flattened by speeding vehicles, and falling victim to the misfires of his own bird-catching schemes and contraptions. Regardless of how many times he gets blown up or falls off a cliff, he just continues his senseless struggle. That obstinate feline risks life and limb persistently pursuing a little yellow creature that when eaten for dinner might satisfy him for 15 minutes.

As silly as Sylvester’s pursuit of Tweety might seem, it is not uncommon for mankind to engage in this same type of enterprise. So many times we pour ourselves feverishly into endeavors that in the end will net us very short-lived satisfaction. We chase after possessions or relationships that ultimately never bring us the fulfillment they seem to boldly promise from a distance. Countless days, months, and even years of our lives are spent working diligently to lay hold of that one thing on earth which we are so sure will provide us with the contentment we so desperately hunger for. Unfortunately, so often we put out maximum effort only to find ourselves holding in our hand that which only minimally and momentarily quenches our thirst. It seems that we, as human beings, are easily susceptible to this “Sylvester syndrome;” and in fact, we can be infected with this condition and never even realize it until one day we actually catch Tweety and find he is truly 90% bone.

God speaks to us about this cat-astrophic condition in Isaiah 55:2, stating, “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” Only God understands what true bread is. Only God has knowledge of what will sufficiently satisfy that which He personally created. He not only knows the answer, but He himself is the answer. He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with good (Psalm 107:9). Nothing but God will ever be able to fill the hunger that haunts the human heart. We may seek to quiet that inner rumble with everything that man can offer, but in the end we will always find ourselves leaving the table wanting more. This world simply has nothing on its menu that will settle the appetite for God in our soul. He alone is the bread of life. He is what our hearts desire. Best of all, He promises that if we passionately pursue Him, we will not come up empty-handed and we will find ourselves extravagantly and eternally satisfied, wanting nothing more except more of Him.

(Psalms 37:4) Find your delight in the LORD. Then he will give you everything your heart really wants.

©LaDonna Neel – January 2010

The Possum Returns

It began as a quiet morning. I was working at my computer while the rest of my family was going through their normal morning routine of getting ready for school and work. Everything was running smoothly until a sudden shriek was heard from the middle of the house. It seems my daughter had stepped out onto our enclosed back porch to find a possum catching some shuteye in a 2-seater patio chair. I speculate this possum had found his way in when someone failed to shut the door to the porch before dark the night before. He had dined on some cat food and then settled in for a nap out of the reach of the cold October wind. Upon arrival, my plan was to open the doors and with minimal effort disturb him enough that he would quickly find his way off my porch and back into the wild. Well, he wasn’t alarmed. Since my presence wasn’t enough to rattle him, I resorted to shaking the opposite end of the furniture he was in. I shook and I shook but that possum hung on tight. I finally was able to displace his back feet from the chair but he remained firmly attached to the seat cushion with his front claws, hanging on with great tenacity with his back end flopping up and down. Finally, I abandoned the shaking and took the broom and finished dislodging him totally from the chair. Instead of running out the open door, he ran down to the corner at the opposite end of the porch. I made a few somewhat feeble attempts to push at him with the broom, but he just looked annoyed and didn’t move. I went back into the house with the thought that he would surely leave at his leisure through the open door.

After going back in the house I was reminded of last fall when I had this same problem. A possum found his way onto the porch and several days later he had not availed himself to the open door but was quite comfortable filling himself with my cat food and sleeping out of the weather. He finally had to be disposed of in a forceful way. It was at that point that I decided I wasn’t going to put up with that again this year. Much to the amusement of my children who were laughing uncontrollably in the kitchen, I grabbed my broom and back out I went. I was determined that this critter was leaving my porch and he was leaving right now. After flinging a few miscellaneous items at him and gaining little ground, I took my broom and began to shove him towards the door. He was not too happy about it. He bit and hissed and contended bravely for his position. As I persisted, he eventually did take off running but missed the door once again and thought he could hide under the chairs. Not a chance. I jerked the chairs out the way and continued my eviction maneuvers. After a few times around the inside perimeter of the porch, the possum did finally surrender and scurried out the door and back into the wild. The porch looked like a war zone with displaced chairs and a scattering of miscellaneous “weapons of warfare” covering it. However, the possum was gone and would no longer be hanging around consuming my cat food and making unwanted deposits on my porch. Oh, how wonderful the feel of victory.


Once all the excitement had abated and the children had ceased their ridiculous giggling, I began to think about how much this possum was like the enemy of our soul. Satan, just like this possum, will not just eventually scamper out of our life if left to himself. He will stay just as long as we allow him to. He will steal from us and make a mess of our life. Our threats or half-hearted resistance will not intimidate him. He must be opposed with unwavering resolve, submitting ourselves to God and standing firm in our authority in the name of Jesus, decisively driving him out the door with the Word of God on our lips. Just like that possum, Satan can be intimidating and his appearance might tend to rattle our cage. Nonetheless, we must look past his initial threatening appearance and immediately take a violent stand against him, refusing to tolerate his invasion. We must stick to our guns and not be discouraged if after one swing of the sword he doesn’t immediately depart though. He is a persistent creature and we must be much more so if we truly desire to be rid of him. If we don’t resist, he certainly won’t retreat. Once he has fled, we must not in light of our success drowse off into complacency but be on guard because he will certainly be back at a more opportune time, hoping to catch us at ease and unaware. Scripture tells us that he is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He is serious about his objective and we must be serious about our opposition. Because of the work of Christ on the cross, Satan is a defeated foe. However, he is diligently looking for those who don’t know that. Through the knowledge and understanding that comes from God’s Word, we can learn to recognize our enemy’s schemes and become equipped with the weapons necessary to enforce that victory over Satan that Jesus secured for us.


It has now been several days since this possum was evicted from my porch. Still, I keep my eyes peeled for the likely return of him or one of his cohorts. Experience has taught me to deal swiftly and sternly with these critters and not put it off until another day. That being the case, I keep my broom close at hand, standing armed and ready to firmly let any possum know that he doesn’t live on this woman’s porch. (James 4:7 NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV) Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (9) Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

©LaDonna Neel – October 2009