Kien Seng: Hamsterology

In my kid’s talk last month, I shared about the death of my hamster, Snowflake. Some people came up to me afterwards to ask how he had escaped from the cage and how he had found his way to the gully. So I will take this opportunity to complete my story and reflections on Snowflake’s death. Ai Tin, my wife, has given me much input with regards to the lessons learnt. For the sake of those who had missed the kid’s talk, I am going to briefly repeat my earlier sharing.

Snowflake was given to my children by their uncle. My children loved him very much. I was a little apprehensive initially to allow my children to have pets in the house because I foresaw that once they grew tired of the pets, the latter would become my ‘baby’. After much persuasion from Gaius and Gracia, promising that they would be committed to take care of Snowflake, I acceded to their request. Well, they did show much enthusiasm in looking after the hamster, ensuring that he had enough food and water for the day, and cleaning the cage (with the parents’ help) once a week. After school everyday, Gaius would take Snowflake out of the cage and allow him to run around a certain corner of the living room. He had also built some obstacles using his Lego set for Snowflake to manoeuvre. After returning Snowflake to the cage, the children would usually not put back the cover. I did not object to it since I felt that if I were in the shoes of the hamster, I would like the cage to be as open as possible. However, I was always afraid that the hamster would climb out of the cage since he definitely had that capability. So as long as there was someone who could keep an eye on the cage, we left it open. I guess you can sense that disaster was looming ahead.

One Saturday night, we all went to bed without putting back the cover! I only noticed our neglectfulness the following morning when I woke up to find Snowflake missing. I looked all around the house for him but other than some hamster’s droppings in Gracia’s room, there was really no trace of Snowflake. I eventually had to wake everyone up to join in the search. There is an opening below our kitchen cabinet which allows water to flow down to the gully if we were to wash the kitchen floor. However, the opening does not lead directly to the gully. There is some distance between the opening and the gully, like a narrow tunnel that runs beneath the cabinet. We suspected that Snowflake might be hiding in that tunnel so we put his favourite sunflower seeds outside the opening, hoping to lure him out. I then made my way to church (recall it was a Sunday morning). Ai Tin called me later when she realised that the sunflower seeds had been shelled. Who else could have done it except for our dear Snowflake yet he was still no where in sight! By now, Ai Tin and the kids had to leave for church and so we thought we would try to lure him out again when we returned home in the afternoon…Well, you know the end of the story. Snowflake must have ventured too far into the tunnel, at the end of which was the fateful drop into the dark and damp gully.

Lesson 1: Boundaries are important. They were important for Snowflake because they served as a hedge, a protection to keep him safe and secure. He might think that the cage was a nuisance and that he was a captive, but he did not realise that outside those boundaries laid dangers that he knew not of. I was told that hamsters like to burrow and it’s their natural inclination to crawl into holes or tunnels. In the house, we know where those holes or tunnels lead to, that was why we could not afford to let Snowflake run around the house unsupervised. Only if he had faith in us that we were doing everything for his sake. Likewise, boundaries are important for us. In Deuteronomy, we know that the law was given to protect Israel from the wicked environment they were entering into. As fallen creatures, their natural inclination was to run into ‘tunnels’ that led to sin and death. As God’s children, living under His grace, He has given us his commandments as boundaries to protect us from living unfruitful lives. How can we be fruitful? “Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4) How then can one remain in Christ? “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love…” (John 15:10) In short, if we want to be fruitful, we have to be obedient to God’s commands. Otherwise, “God cuts off every branch that bears no fruit…such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:2, 6)

Lesson 2: The God who watches over us neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4). We did not cover the cage in the day because we could keep watch over the hamster. If Snowflake tried to climb out of the cage, we could always gently put him back. However, in the night when the whole family went to bed, in our slumber, we had no chance to put Snowflake back into the cage when he attempted to climb out of it. So his escape and eventual death was really part of our fault because we did not fulfill our responsibility in making sure that the cage was secure. Aren’t we glad that we are under the ever watchful eyes of God who neither slumbers nor sleeps? The psalmist says, “You know when I sit and when I rise…You discern my going out and my lying down, You are familiar with all my ways…You hem me in – behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me…Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” (Psalm 139:2-6) With such a God watching over us, we can be sure that if we allow Him to rebuke and correct us, and often He does so through His Word and the Holy Spirit, we can have the confidence that we will never fall away.

Lesson 3: We may not be harmed the first time but that does not mean that the dangers are not there. The hamster went into the hole and thought that he had found his freedom and he was very likely feeling comfortable in that cool tunnel beneath the kitchen cabinet. When he saw the food, he came out to get it and he went back to the seemingly safe refuge that he had discovered. Little known to him that if he continued to stay in that tunnel and if he were to venture beyond a certain point, dangers were awaiting him. Sometimes we find ourselves in similar situations. We may engage in something that is not right but it is exciting and we enjoy it. We think it is safe because we haven’t experienced any ill consequences. Yet we may not understand the dangers that lie ahead. Satan is a deceiver. He would like to lure us slowly into the trap so that before we know it, we are on our way to destruction. We may not get burnt when we play with fire the first few times. But subsequently, the fire can become a furnace that will destroy our whole life. Is there something that you are doing which is not right? You know that it is not right but you are not too concerned because there doesn’t seem to be any repercussions. Repent before it is too late!

Lesson 4: I wonder whether for a moment Snowflake knew that he was lost and as much as he wanted to get back to his comfortable cage, he was not able to. Was he really so contented with the tunnel he was hiding in? Just assuming that he wanted to get back to the cage but he did not know how to, what should he have done? Staying put may be a good idea until help comes. The more we try the messier things may get. I am not advocating passivism here. But I am thinking of people who are trying to get their lives straighten out but the more they strive, the more they spiral downwards. They try to fill the vacuum in their hearts with all sorts of things and activities but their hearts remain restless. If you are in such a situation, allow God to come to your aid. You may want to consider letting go and letting God take control. We believe in a God who is the good Shepherd. He will go all his way out to look for the one lost sheep, even it means leaving behind the other ninety-nine sheep. (Matt. 18:12-14) Such a Shepherd will definitely be able to seek us out.

It was indeed our carelessness that had led Snowflake to his dreadful fall and we ask God for forgiveness for not being good stewards of something that was entrusted to our care. Snowflake will always remain in our fond memories, for the good times we had with him when he was alive, but also for the precious lessons he had taught us through his death.

Pastor Kien Seng

20^th November 2005