It was my fault and I never realized the trouble it would cause.

Recently, I made a chocolate pie for an event I was attending. It had an Oreo crust and chocolate filling. There was one piece left so I put the pie plate on a counter in my unheated, enclosed porch for later.

Upon entering the porch the next morning, I saw that a waste basket was tipped over and other items were out of place. Then I also saw crumbs on the counter. The pie was…gone…completely devoured. As I cleaned up the crumbs, I wondered who (or what) had eaten my pie. I was likely better off without it, but it was a puzzle and a bit of a disappointment.

Over the next days, I saw empty egg cartons and a small container of leftover Christmas cookies on the floor. A bag of flour was also torn open. I cleaned again and sadly, threw the flour.

Then one day I heard a noise. I quietly peeked through the window in the door and saw a squirrel rummaging around. I opened the door and he jumped off the counter and scurried under the storm door! We had never seen evidence of any critters in our porch before, but I suppose if the temptation is great enough, they will come. Some people are tempted by chocolate pie and apparently squirrels can be too.

How did they get under the storm door? The concrete sloped away from the house. Later, a porch was added to keep the concrete ice free. Sloped concrete and a square storm door, created a point of entry. Even though I removed any further temptation, he must have had hope that if a treasure was there once it would be again.

He was apparently a mission-minded squirrel, since at one point, a friend showed up and I had two romping about the porch. I tried closing the door’s gap with a vinyl barrier and rugs but they chewed their way in. Garlic worked till the smell dissipated. Eventually, I had it blocked well enough so they couldn’t get in. Then they started ripping the screens off the outside of the windows. I’ll give them an A for persistence and effort.

A friend loaned me two live traps so eventually two of them were relocated to Burlington and I thought that was the end of it. However, two more quickly took their place, which means that several were told of my treasures. Then someone brought me some coyote urine to place on rags around the yard. That seems to have ended the problem since they apparently believed there was danger in my yard. I even saw one pause one day, raise on its back legs and survey the surroundings before running to the next tree.

Several lessons come to mind. My squirrels worked very hard to get to my treasure. Are we drawn that strongly to find the eternal treasures God offers? My squirrels told their friends about finding treasures. Do we tell others about the treasure we have in our relationship with God? Chocolate is said to be toxic to squirrels. As we seek our treasures, may they be those that are safe and lasting. “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God,” (Proverbs 2:1-5 ESV). That’s a lasting treasure worth seeking.

Author of a second book, “Journeys in Faith, Pursing Obedience,” containing more than 50 additional devotionals written for The Minot Daily News.