Friday, September 21, 2012

I Want My Cat Back!




September 21, 2012

The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust. Ps. 103: 13-14 (NLT)

“I Want My Cat Back!” she said.

My friend, Michelle, a frequent member of our noon-time prayer group at work, had endured some very stressful days of balancing working full-time, being a single mother, going to college at night and preparing to move to a new home. Early on Saturday of Labor Day weekend, she took her beloved cat, Dr. Doofenshmirtz-Shmirtz for short, with the first load of stuff so that he would have a chance to acclimate to the new home. Frightened by the strange surroundings, Shmirtz jumped out of her arms and disappeared. She looked everywhere for him, but couldn’t find him. She was heartsick.

Near midnight, after a long day of loading and unloading, packing and unpacking, the stress of it all finally got to her. As the tears started to flow, she prayed one of those heartfelt, honest-to-God prayers. She recalled God’s promises to be faithful, to put no more on us than we are able to bear, that nothing was too hard for Him and concluded with “and I want my cat back!”

I’ll confess to a certain amount of ambivalence about this Glimmers. Praying for my cat to come back is not a prayer that would ever cross my lips. I don’t quite understand this level of attachment to a cat, but to Michelle, Shmirtz is family. He sleeps on the bed near her feet every night. But this isn’t about me anyway. Prayer is about what is important to the pray-er and every now and then, it is really good to see a prayer answered.

The venting over, Michelle felt relieved and finally went to bed after a very long, hard day. As she lay in the bed trying to slow her thinking down and get some sleep, she thought she heard a familiar noise-the tinkling of the bell on her cat’s collar. There it was again. Could it be? She got up to check. Sure enough, there on the back porch was the long-lost cat.

Prayer is spiritual communication. It is about so much more than sending up a list of presents you’d like to receive, as if God was merely a celestial Santa Claus. Most of the time, we’re fine with the spiritual strength we gain from this vital communion with God. We understand that there are bigger things at work. We can be patient, content with the knowledge that God cares for us and is watching over us. But we all have our limits. We all reach the end of our rope on occasion. And sometimes you really need God to give you your cat back.

Blessings to you all,

Jerald