Premises

Having collected Mom K from the Home and bundled her in the front seat of the van, I then picked up Asherel to take them to lunch at the mall. Mom K was delighted to be out shopping, feeling normal.
Asherel hopped in the car and as she snapped her seat belt announced, "I want a wallaby."
"Asherel," I laughed, "You can't have a wallaby. They are not even legal probably to own."
"Yes they are," she said, "I looked it up. Wallabies are legal in NC."
"And how much is a wallaby?"
"$2,000...but I think I can find it cheaper. Maybe there is a wallaby rescue."
I was pretty sure there were not a whole lot of homeless wallabies in NC waiting to be rescued, but Asherel did a search on my phone.
"Yep," she announced, "There are wallaby rescues in Texas...and in Washington. Would Aunt Amy pick up our wallaby so we don't have to pay shipping?"
If only she would put so much effort into her literary analysis class.

I spoke to my friend Kelly the vet that night.
"Kelly, would you be able to do the vet work on a wallaby?"
"A what?" she asked.
I'm thinking that's a no.
"Tell Asherel," Kelly said, "Wild things should be wild."
I agree.

"But," Asherel told me, "They can be housetrained, they are cuddly and lovable and smart. All you need is a 4-5 foot fence enclosure. They eat wallaby food, or fruits and vegetables. And I found one for just $500."

Asherel was proceeding quite logically from a faulty premise. Her premise was that a wallaby should be owned in the first place. Wrong. Kelly was right. A wild animal should be wild. Always check premises, especially when you have a wily, conniving, brilliant teenager in the house.

But we all make faulty assumptions and then proceed from there, quite often to our detriment. I think one of the most common faulty premises is that God is limited, or not caring, or not there at all. What a world of logical woe proceeds from that erroneous premise.

"Who will take care of the wallaby when you go to college?" I asked.
"I'll bring him with me," she said.
"Grandmom," i asked Mom K, "Do you think Asherel should get a wallaby?"
"She is a good girl," answered Grandma, "She should get what she wants."
The conniver smirked in the back seat.

Psalm 24:1-6 (NIV)
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; [2] for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. [3] Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? [4] The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. [5] They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. [6] Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.





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