Yesterday, our cat, Jack, somehow managed to get a few turds and a little diarrhea caught (and dried) in the long fur on the backs of his hind legs. It smelled awful!! As soon as I discovered the source, I immediately put him out, assuming that, as a cat, he would take care of this egregious grooming faux pas. I left Chris a message telling him that if he came home for lunch NOT to let Jack in.
When I got home that evening, I checked Jack, and there was no change. As I anthropomorphised Jack, I thought he was just being obstinate and lazy, so I let him spend the night out. I was trying to avoid the messy and difficult process of cleaning him up myself.
When I got up this morning, there was still no change.
Now I have to explain something about Jack. He's not a normal cat. He's a Maine Coon, and he's the most sociable cuddlebug ever. He's much more like a puppy than a cat. He loves people. He loves to be around Chris and me. He's never more than a few feet away. He loves to be held, pet, and snuggled. Very strange for a cat - fairly normal for his breed, though.
So as I sat down this morning in my chair beside the sliding glass door to do my morning devotion and drink my coffee, there was poor Jack. He was howling and distraught standing on the other side of the door. He was pawing incessantly at the glass, and I kept telling him he couldn't come in because he stunk. (I had moved his food to the garage.)
Finally, I felt so sorry for him, I went, got some scissors, and decided to give cleaning him up a try. I put him in my lap (on the patio), flipped him over, and went to work. I'll skip the details, but in the end I was pretty successful.
I opened the door and let Jack in, thinking that was all he wanted. But he couldn't get settled. He moved from place to place, kept meowing, and followed me into the kitchen. He just looked up at me and meowed. It was then that I realized what he wanted was to be held. We hadn't even touched the poor thing in two days!
So, I scooped him up in my arms, flipped him over on his back, and loved on him. I found myself explaining to him that we still loved HIM - it was just the turd that was the problem.
Then God turned the light on :)
I realized Jack couldn't see the turds and had probably gotten used to the smell, if it ever bothered him in the first place. He had no idea what the problem was, and even if I could explain it, he didn't know how to get rid of the turds. He needed someone else to help him
- to do it for him.
How like us with our own sin?!
We don't see it, and we don't understand why God won't let us in the holy place. We assume it's something inherently wrong with us - not the turd stuck to our back ;) And God, in His infinite kindness, realized that and cut off our turds for us. He washed us white as snow and let us again be a pleasing fragrance. He let us back in his house (forever), picked us up in His arms, and told us that He loves us with an everlasting love!
... I'm really glad we got a cat.
No comments:
Post a Comment