My ragdoll cat lays here on my bed, purring to her heart's content.
She has been very persevering. She saw me enter my room and she quickly
sneaked in before I closed the door. While I was taking my shower,
shaving and getting ready for the night, she patiently waited.
Why? Because she knew that I would eventually come onto the bed to pray.
It's then that she would show up, and her intentions would be clear: she
wants to be with me. She wants to be loved by me, she wants to be petted
by me. How she relishes those moments when she has my full attention.
Believe me, it's quite hard to concentrate at times with her motor
purring so loudly!
As I thought about this, I couldn't help but
wonder why she doesn't seek me out every night. She knows this is my
nightly routine, and she definitely wants to be with me.
The
problem is, there are distractions that keep her too busy!
The
wasp, for example. It flies into our home and needs to be fully
investigated, and eventually, eliminated! For some reason wasps don't
seem to sting cats. Or at least not my cat!
And then there's the
ant that is making quite a nuisance of itself exploring our kitchen. It
must also be closely observed and then swallowed.
Oh wait. The
dog treats are coming out. That means there has to be cat treats as
well!
And the piece of paper on the floor! Cool! It can be thrown
up into the air, swatted across the floor and then chased!
The
noise at the door? Better be there to either greet or attack whoever
comes in!
The distractions of a cat's life are never ending! No
wonder they have nine lives! Or is it seven? Either way, they have a lot
on their plate, and even though sitting at the feet of their master is
their subliminal goal, time is limited and precious! They need to have
time for all of those distractions, now don't they? Who put those here
anyway!
Aren't we exactly the same? We hunger to be with God, to
experience Him fully, but for some reason or another we don't seem to
find enough time in a twenty-four hour day! Maybe we could extend our
days to 30 hours? Then maybe we would have the time to spend with God?
But would that truly resolve our problems? Or would we find even
more distractions?
David concluded this: "When can I go and meet
with God?" (Ps 42:2b NIV) Although he meant this as an indication that
he couldn't wait to be with God, we often ask the same question because
we don't HAVE the time!
Maybe, just maybe it's time to set time
aside. Those myriads of distractions that seem to be popping up out of
nowhere can wait! They really can! They won't disappear, believe me!
Some of us even dream about them! So absolutely definitively they can be
put on hold.
Let's plan to spend some quality time with our
Saviour and Maker instead, and let Him restore us from the stress we
face. In His presence we can purr to our heart's content, for truly
there is no better place to be!
May we remember what Jesus said
to Martha: "'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and
upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen
what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'" (Luke 10:41-42
NIV)
Now what! There's a mosquito in the house! I better do
something about it before anyone else finds it!
Purrrrr. . . Why
worry?
Rob Chaffart