A Story of Three Cats
Both my wife and I have been pet people even before we met. I tend to lean towards cats while she leans towards dogs. I want to compare three cats that we have had over the last sixty years.
The first cat was Thomas (who I’ve written about before.) I got him when I was almost five and he was an indoor/outdoor cat. We lived in a rural farm area so when Thomas got the urge to go hunting, he might be gone for a couple of days and come home smelling of alfalfa from a neighbor’s cow barn (good smell), or bedding straw from the same cows (not a good smell).
The second cat was FeeBee, my son’s cat. My wife and I, after we got married, decided that all our future cats would be indoor only cats (they live longer). We got FeeBee for our son when he was about 10. While we tried to keep her in, she had a desire to explore outside. One day, she got out and by the time we found the open door, she wasn’t to be found. After a couple of days of looking for her (the resource we found suggested placing her litter box outside as the scent would help lead her home), I heard a faint cry from the tree line in our backyard (a couple hundred yards away). It was dark but I grabbed a flashlight, climbed over our hurricane fence, and eventually rescued her. She never desired to escape again.
The third cat is my current cat, Trixie. Trixie (whose formal name is Beatrice), is an indoor cat who is, for the most part, scared of the thought of going outside. In the spring and summer, she may see and hear a bird through our window and rush up to it but that is about as close as we must worry about her getting out. In fact, Trixie is laying on my lap right now after getting her morning attention from me.
Thomas’ lifestyle meant that he came home occasionally after fights with other animals and might have a gash in his ear. I noticed his paw pads were a little weathered and rough over his life time. FeeBee, with her diminished level of outdoor activity had softer paw pads (and less injuries) but still not pristine paw pads. Trixie, in comparison, has very soft paw pads. I refer to them as low mileage paw pads like “butter.” They are almost kitten-soft, even though she is almost 10 years old.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV
All three of these cats slowed down their activity over their life while still loving us (and being loved by us) greatly. I never doubted their love for us as we went through times of distraction or illness ourselves and visa versa. As I get older, I genuinely feel sorry for people who make their living from their good looks knowing that those looks will change over their life. I pray that they have developed meaningful relationships with their loved ones that will transcend those outer characteristics.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” - Psalm 139:23-24
My heart aches to know God more and more. To have a relationship with him that goes beyond the pittance of good action attempts that I make. Believing in his love and redemption in spite of my faults (a lot of which are known only by him) is the most loving embrace I can imagine.
“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” - Romans 8:12-18
