“Git!!!”

 

We’ve been adopted by a cat. This process began during the winter, has had its ups and downs, and while we’ve experienced some moments when we despaired of the process, it seems to have been pretty much completed.  I write “pretty much” because with this cat we may never know. Though, what I’m about to share might indicate that she has indeed made her final decision about us.

 

The players:

 

Princess, the tabby cat who lives next door. She is about thirteen years old, has been a visitor to our deck and garden for a few years, and was hospitable to Lady Jane when Lady Jane was very much a cat on her own seeking food in the neighborhood.

 

Lady Jane, a calico cat who began showing up for food during the winter. We named her Lady Jane because we wanted a name to associate with Princess. There was a time we couldn’t touch Lady Jane, couldn’t pet her, couldn’t get close to her. Now she spends the night inside with us, gets lots of pets, plays with us (but don’t touch her tummy, she is a Venus cat trap and will get you!) and is quite affectionate.

 

Socks, a large male cat. We call him Socks because, of course, he is a black cat with white lower legs and paws.  Socks intimidates Princess and Lady Jane and eats their food.

 

Lady Jane and Princess have cat condos on our deck. We purchased them during the winter so they’d have warm places to stay. Lady Jane not only uses her cat condo for warmth, but when she is afraid she jumps inside it for security.

 

Okay, the stage is set, let’s have some action.

 

Yesterday morning, as I let Lady Jane outside and onto our back deck, I called for Princess so she could come over for her first breakfast. Princess is an outdoor cat and she normally sleeps on her parents’ patio, which is just feet from our deck. The two cats have two breakfasts. I feed them around 5:30 and Lisa, Princess’s mom, feeds them later. I suppose they are like Tolkien’s Hobbits, who maintained a custom of having a first breakfast and then a second breakfast.

 

Princess normally comes right over, expecting to be served dry food in one bowl and wet food in another, she will make her own decision as to just what she’ll eat on any given day, my job is to serve, not to ask questions. Yesterday, however, there was no Princess. I called again, then again, then again, but no Princess.

 

Okay, I thought, I’ll go inside and get some coffee and come back out and see if she shows up. Lady Jane was settling down on the deck, having already eaten in the house. As I opened the door and stepped inside, out of the corner of my eye I saw Lady Jane bolt into her cat condo, as I turned I saw Princess running up on the deck chased by Socks.

 

Instinctively I turned back onto the deck and yelled, “Git!”

 

Socks did just that, he turned around and was gone in a flash.

 

After making sure that Socks had left the area, I told Lady Jane she could come out of her condo, which she did. Then I brought Princess her breakfast and stayed outside for a few minutes just to make sure everything would be fine.

 

Then it hit me, when I yelled “Git” neither Lady Jane nor Princess ran, only Socks. A few months ago Lady Jane would have bolted too, but not now. They knew my “Git” voice was not for them, in fact, it was to protect them.

 

When I mentioned this to Vickie later in the morning, she said, “All Princess and Lady Jane hear from us are words of love, they have never heard words to cause fear. They knew you weren’t talking to them.”

 

O how I wish we were secure in God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. How I wish we knew that “God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16). How I wish we knew that “Perfect love casts out all fear” (1 John 4:18). How I wish we lived in the assurance that “nothing can separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38 – 39).

 

Jesus says that His sheep know His voice (John 10:1 – 5).

 

Do we?

 

Are we living in the incredible love of God in Jesus Christ?

 

Are we sharing His amazing love with others?

 

Is His love our Way of Life?

 

1 Corinthians Chapter 13; 1 John Chapter 4.

 

Much love, from me to you in Jesus Christ.

 

Bob