Hello
Last week I wrote about
Miss Nicklebee, our sweet, skittish, and cuddly outdoor cat (you can find it on
my blog: 1johnthreeone.blogspot.com), and what I might learn from her in my
relationship to God. This week,
her polar opposite and companion in woodshed cohabitation, Attaboy.
He and Miss Nicklebee were supposed
to be from the same litter, but you’ld never guess so from the way he looks to
the way he acts. Attaboy is
a completely white furred cat except for his tail, which is raccoon-like in
color. He rarely spends time in
the shelter of the shed. Instead,
he is always on the prowl making his presence known on our neighbors’ land as
well as ours. He seems to have no
fear as he prances his way right up to our dog, Duncan, who he greets by rising
up on his back legs and caressing Duncan’s neck with his head. (You may
remember that Duncan nearly killed Miss Nicklebee.) He is a bit Hollywood in his personal perception, assuming
that everyone that he sees is someone who wants his autograph. Definitely not skittish. He loves to be picked up and petted.
Thing is, though, when you pick him up he is every bit in motion as he
is in his perpetual prowling life.
Laps, for him, are not things to sit upon, but rather platforms to pace
upon. He doesn’t cuddle, but
rather does to me what he does to Duncan, caressing my cheek with the fur
between his ears. No matter my
attempts to get him to relax in my arms, he does not. He keeps on churning and whirling. Perfect, purring peace is not something that Attaboy has
ever captured. There’s a
restlessness in Attaboy that never seems to be quelled.
I see those Attaboy traits often, if not usually, in me. I, like he with me, delight to see God
wandering around in my life, and I find myself wagging my tail in delight as he
stoops down to pick me up. But
once in his embrace, I don’t rest calmly and at ease. My mind still churns and spins trying to hold things
together, myself. I pace back and
forth in nervousness and anxiety.
I am reluctant to simply relax, restlessness like ADHD in my soul.
Last week I made note that I might learn from Miss Nicklebee what it
means to melt in the graceful embrace of God. From Attaboy and his relationship to me, I hope to
incarnate this truth: God does not embrace me for what it does to God, but what
it does to me. When Miss Nicklebee
melts in my lap, my heart melts, too.
That does not happen when Attaboy is in my lap….but nevertheless, I
still pick him up and gladly take him for who he is…..and if I can do that with
an outdoor cat who lives in my wood shed, certainly I can count on God doing
that with me for whom he has made my home in his heart. Restlessness and roaming do not cool my
heart to Attaboy….I can count, therefore, that neither will they cool God’s
heart to me.
And with that assuredness, I can have hope….hope that the gentle grace
of God will slowly and suredly assuage my restlessness, and purr-fect peace will
indeed take hold of my soul, and I will rest, like Miss Nicklebee, in the
abiding peace of being “dandled” on the lap of God.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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