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When my mom departed this Earth to be with the Lord at Christmas, 2020, she left behind a big, long-haired, orange cat who she called, Dundee.
My youngest son asked to adopt Dundee into his little family, and knowing my mom would have approved of the plan, we were happy to agree. The only problem, he lives in Western Canada, and Dundee is in Ontario. Because of the spike in COVID infections that we were going through in Ontario at the time, no one felt safe taking him to Toronto and putting him on an airplane, and as a result, Dundee temporarily came to live with me.
There was only one problem with this: I had always been the one to take Dundee to the vet, administer medication, clean his ears, take him to the groomer, etc., and as a result, Dundee hated me. He would always run and hide the moment I drove into my mom's driveway...
Over time, Dundee learned that I wasn't such a bad person. I think maybe the fact that I meant food did it for him, and he stopped running and hiding all the time. Every once in awhile he would even come out when I was down in the basement and ask to be petted. He rarely if ever came upstairs, however, where we usually were, and even when we were in the basement, there would usually be no Dundee around. Being an animal lover, I really hoped to be able to establish a good relationship with Dundee, but alas, it was not to be. The "torture" I had subjected him to for so many years was too imprinted in his mind...
It's sad, because it was obvious that Dundee missed his human mommy almost as much as I missed her. It made me pretty sad actually. I would have been more than happy to give him comfort and love, but he woulnd't put his kitty fears behind him...
How like our interactions with God!
Yes, God is always the One to do and allow whatever is the best for us. But just like taking Dundee to the vet and giving him his medication was actually for his own good, what is in our best interest is also sometimes painful. And just like Dundee ran and hid every time he heard me coming, we, God's creation, lose trust in Him. Sometimes we even run and hide from encounters with Him. How God longs for us to understand that He is the One Who sustains us, Who loves us, Who does everything to care for us, Who pours out His blessings upon us!
Here, however, is where my analogy with Dundee breaks down. Dundee has an excuse. He's only a little kitty, and he simply doesn't understand that I'm truly not the bad guy. It also won't truly make a difference in the long run to his final resting place whether he lets me love him or not! We, on the other hand, have no such excuse. We can reason. We can see God's blessings, we can read His Word, we can experience His love, and we can come to understand that sometimes the bad times are necessary. Unlike Dundee, we have no excuse for continuing to run and hide from God. But we do. We charge Him, we try Him, all by things that we don't fully understand. We cower in the corner, we hide, we turn our backs, and in the meantime, we rob ourselves of the beautiful and abundant blessing that we can have by running to God instead of away from Him. Also, in the long run, it WILL make a big difference to our final resting place if we continue to turn our backs on God
God is there, longing for us to put our fears, our preconceived ideas, our predisposition to relying on ourselves -- All behind us. He longs to save us, to bless us, to give us the abundant life He has promised. All we have to do is give Him a chance. Doesn't He command us to come to Him (“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)? doesn't He tell us to give Him our burdens ("Cast your burden on the Lord,And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." Ps. 55:22 NIV; See also Philippians 4:13, Matthew 6:34, Isaiah 41:13)?
Will you give Him a chance today? If you would like to but aren't sure, how, please email me and I will be more than happy to help you.
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two adult boys, Author -- "Aboard God's Train -- A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer", Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, The Illustrator, a four-times-a-week internet newsletter, and the Sermon Illustrator website, all with Answers2Prayer Ministries.
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