Kitty Tales

I've mentioned before how God uses my kitties to show me things. I doubt I'll remember all of them in this post, as there've been so many things. But, here are a couple:

Percy is very laid back EXCEPT when it comes to his mealtimes. He has an alarm clock in his tummy! Even if his last meal was much later than usual, his little tummy alarm goes off at the same time for his next meal. He expects to be fed at the usual time regardless of when he last ate. I might want to feed them later than usual since their last meal was later than usual. This is my prerogative as 'the human,' right? Well, when Percy is ready to eat, he often 'camps out' on my lap until I feed him. No, this is not affection. It's more like the widow and the judge in Luke 18! Verse 5 says, "yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out." I didn't know Percy knew Scripture, but he sure knows that parable! Sometimes I go ahead and feed him earlier than I planned or he WEARS ME OUT with his whining! So, am I willing to wait on God for that particular item when He wants to give it to me later than when I'm expecting it? Then, do I wear HIM out with my whining? (notice I didn't say 'praying,' but 'whining'...yes, there is a difference!)

And, my cats are indoor kitties. I've declawed both of them (front paws only) and for different reasons. I declawed Mazie because this little gal was DANGEROUS with her claws! I was SO glad I'd already had her declawed when I got Percy, or she'd have ripped him to shreds! I actually had Percy for a little over two years before I got him declawed, as he'd NEVER been aggressive with them. But, he'd unintentionally scratch me with them, knead the back of my couch with them and occasionally snag my clothes with them. He'd even get them caught in the rug sometimes! So, when I was able to afford it, I had him declawed, too. And, (partly) because they're declawed, I don't let them outside. But the MAIN reason I don't let them outside is because I don't want them bringing in fleas and/or ticks! What's the spiritual lesson in this? They, being cats, didn't understand why I had them declawed. It was a little miserable for them as they recovered. But they didn't know they'd be much happier without them! No more getting them stuck in the carpet! And, to my knowledge, neither of them know about fleas or ticks, as they've never had them since they've been in my care. So, when they think I'm a mean momma for not letting them go outside, they are unaware of the dangers on the other side of the glass sliding doors! They don't even know what fleas and ticks ARE or that they could get hit by a car (what's a car, Momma?) or attacked by another cat...on and on we could go. They don't know I'm protecting them! It just looks like a whole lot of fun 'on the other side!' Does this remind you of the prodigal son? It does me! How many times have we gotten angry at Him for not letting us do something that we REALLY WANTED TO DO, all the time never knowing the dangers associated with that activity? He's all-knowing and we are not. How many times has He protected us and we never even knew it?

I'm certainly not 'all-knowing,' but I know more than my cats do. Because I know more than they do, I can protect them from things they know nothing about. And I do it out of love for them. Our God has protected and will protect us from things we often know NOTHING about...because He loves us and is wiser than we are. Let us be grateful to Him for His protection rather than be angry at Him for not allowing us certain things He knows we're better off without.