DON'T BE LIKE THE CAT!

A couple months back, we decided to get a cat. Not that we are truly fond of cats, but we have mice, and we are truly not fond of mice!

Mice are quite clever. They catch on to your peanut butter tricks and traps easily. I have even heard of studies where scientists noted how one mouse would throw itself in front of another mouse if they knew there was some kind of danger ahead. And mice are tiny, quick and nocturnal, and since I am none of those things, they seem to have the advantage. So after months of traps and poisons, to no avail, we decided on a cat.

A very sweet-hearted woman in our church works with stray cats around

Baltimore. She gathers them up, takes them to BARCS, where they get a rabies shot and are neutered/spayed, and then she brings them back to the neighborhood she found them in and feeds them everyday. When she heard of our dilemma she asked if we would consider taking one of these cats.

She knew of a rather small female, very pretty, who apparently got picked on a lot by the other cats (cat bullying—go figure), and she would love it if we would take this pretty, little kitty into our home and give her a safe place to live. So we did.

It took about an hour to coax the cat out of the carrier. She immediately ran behind the couch. When I lifted up the couch she ran behind the piano, and there she stayed for three days. I moved the litter box and food next to the piano. She ate the food and used the litter box, so I knew she was still alive. In one brief blur of a moment, she bolted from behind the piano and tore down the basement stairs, and there she has stayed these last few months.

I put the litter box downstairs in the basement bedroom, but I put her food at the top of the stairs just off the kitchen, so if she wants to eat, she must come up the stairs. At night, I leave the pantry and kitchen doors opened, in the hopes that she will prowl around and snack on mice. Not sure it’s working. Signs of mice (and you all know what that is!) in the pantry have disappeared, but now I see mousy-evidence in my bathroom closet (Grrr…).

The only time I actually see the cat is when I shake the bag of cat food, and she appears at the bottom of the basement stairs, staring up at me from the bedroom door, which is at least 30 feet away. Week after week, month after month, I have changed the litter box, fed her, and gently called to her. But…nothing. I feel quite bad that this pretty, little kitty will most likely never be patted and stroked and played with. Although I have given her what she needs to survive, she will not come close enough to me to get what makes life worth living…love and affection.

So, how about you? When it comes to your relationship with the Lord, which are you most like? Basement kitty—getting just enough to survive, but not thrive? Or, are you more like my grandson, who at age four, saw a Santa walking down the street and hurled himself into his arms and screamed, “Santaaaa!!

Perhaps, you are somewhere in between.

DON’T BE LIKE THE CAT!

Don’t stand so far off that you never know the gentleness and tenderness of a kind and merciful Savior. …Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great. (Psalm 18:35, NASB)

Don’t let your sin keep you from the Lord. You are forgiven and your sins are paid for. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19, NIV)

DON’T BE LIKE THE CAT!

Don’t stand far away from God. Draw near to the Lord. He is our rest. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28, NIV)

Recognize that God is a good God, and He greatly desires to share what He has with you. He is your Protector. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds (Psalm 73:28, NIV).

Life is a journey. You were never meant to travel through it on your own. The purpose of this life is to get to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, so that in the next life you can reign with Him in eternity. Life goes by quickly. For some the trip is quicker than for others, but no matter, the end will always come sooner than you expect, so make yourself ready and get to know the One who will not fail you or falter, and who can bring you home to heaven.

Don’t stand far off with sad eyes afraid to come near, waiting, in shame, till you think God is not looking, and then sneaking in for a scrap of spiritual food. Come in. Jump in. Join in. God has much to give you. Nothing can separate you from the God that loves you. …neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).

DON’T BE LIKE THE CAT!