It was a Saturday afternoon and I came home after spending the day playing at my friend’s house. I was nine years old and when my mother heard me enter the house, she called out to me. “I have a surprise for you!” Intrigued, I went around to the backyard where my mother was hanging clothes on the clothesline. Nestled at her feet was a cat. She had short hair with calico-like coloring and an irresistible need to snuggle in your lap. I was ecstatic. “Can we keep her, Mom?” I anxiously asked as I stroked her back.
My mother nodded but said we needed to make inquiries around the neighborhood to see if anyone lost a cat. We did but there were no responses. She had no collar or license and it was an era before microchipping. We decided to keep her as our own. We had a cat! I will never know why this cat chose my mother, instead of all other humans, to be her new owner. Perhaps, like myself, she sensed the caring spirit that my mother exuded. If a stray cat was intelligent enough to seek out care and comfort from a being greater than itself, shouldn’t humans also have as much common sense? One would hope but sadly, the opposite is often true.
Humans, like other animals, have an innate need to seek care and comfort. Yet humans so often turn to material comforts and even themselves before realizing that these are only cosmetic and ephemeral solutions to a deeper spiritual problem. This is what I did as I sought care and comfort in my career and many broken relationships. It was only when I realized that I was seeking someone beyond what I or other humans could provide, did my futile quest for fulfillment with these other relationships end, and I turned to God.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us.
Psalms 123:2 (NKJV)
This beautiful verse from the Book of Psalms captures the tender love and compassion that God has for His creation. My cat instinctively knew to whom to turn when she needed mercy, love, and protection. God created all of us with the same need; we are unfulfilled until we turn to Him. I pray that unlike myself, others will not have to suffer many wounds, pain, and abandonment before looking to God to receive His mercy.
Amen!
Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.
The Bereans Blog 