“The first thing I do when I wake up is clear the traps, the first thing when I get home is clear the traps and then just before I go to sleep, I clear the traps” said Greg Johnstone who lives near Tamworth.

Following a good harvest season, a severe mouse plague has beset farms up and down the eastern rural landscape. Grain left over from the bountiful harvest has given millions of mice an abundance of food. And their numbers are multiplying.

Greg lives on a hundred-acre property and because every shop in the area has sold out, he travelled down to Sydney in search of mouse bait and traps

“I got two tablets of poison, a huge win- but it’s only enough for two weeks,” he said.

“I have maybe 30 traps in my garage and I empty them about 3 times a day.”

“It’s just one more thing that we have to deal with, and so we know what to do and we get on with it.”

This routine has become distressing and tiring, yet Greg also sees it as a trial of a broken world.

“It’s just another thing to endure, that we will overcome,” he said.

“Perseverance seems to be a big thing being taught to all of us.”

In Wee Waa, NSW, farmer James Kahl says that while the mouse plague is significant, they have a good management strategy. After mice damaged his crop in January, he was then prepared to bait his next crop – an action that has paid off.

“My job is to deal with what I’m given and getting upset about the weather I’m not getting is a waste of time. That’s not my job, it’s [God’s] job.”

“It’s just one more thing that we have to deal with, and so we know what to do and we get on with it.”

While mice are an inconvenience, James believes that his job as a farmer is to work with the weather and events that God sends. He tries not to worry about things out of his control.

“My job is to deal with what I’m given and getting upset about the weather I’m not getting is a waste of time. That’s not my job, it’s His job.”

“That’s how I remain a farmer… God’s in charge of that.”

Minister of Lightning Ridge Community Church Kurt Langmead has also recognised the bigger picture amid the mice plague.

“It’s a reminder that we are not in the promised land yet. We’ve gone from a long stint of drought which comes with its own challenges and struggles,” said Kurt, “Then the rain comes down and the mice come out to play- so you go from one challenge to another.”

While the experience of a mouse plague is a nuisance to his family and their community, Kurt reflects on the Parable of the Sower as a reminder of what ultimately matters.

“The main response has been a reminder to keep checking in- asking how they’re going, if they want a chat, want to pray.”

“Mice eating all the left-over Easter eggs in our pantry is a minor inconvenience, God’s word not finding good soil in people’s hearts has eternal significance.”

With this perspective, Kurt has been checking in with parishioners and community members more often.

“The main response has been a reminder to keep checking in- asking how they’re going, if they want a chat, want to pray,” he said.

This reflects his prayer request for the plague affected regions which looks beyond the immediate inconveniences and towards eternity.

“It would be good if people could pray that the mouse plague comes under control,” he said, “but it would be even better if people could pray that God’s word would find good soil in people’s hearts.”