My cat reminds me of God...

And if my cat had anything to do with the editing, this blog would end with the title.  Fortunately for my salvation, the title requires explanation. Let me start by explaining about my cat.

I trapped my cat as a 3 week old kitten from a long line of feral cats. She hated me.  She hated everyone, but I am particularly good with animals.  I have never had an animal hate me before. Fear? Yes, but hate? Never.  It took 2 months longer than the other kittens we caught to get her to tolerate my presence.  I finally managed this by locking her in the bathroom with me while I read a book for hours, ignoring her.  It took weeks of this before she made the decision to approach me.  Before that, every time I held her resulted in my bleeding, a lot.  It took a year before I could reach out to her without her scampering away, three years before she was willing to cuddle up in my lap.  She would not take food or treats that I offered her(not even hot dog bits, or cheese), I had to fill her food dish secretly.  As a kitten, she had a bacterial infection, and 3 different kinds of parasites at once, meaning she had to pinned down daily for medications. Later on, she got ringworm, and though she had begun to like me, I still had to wrestle her down to treat her every day.  Now, she loves me.

A year ago, I scooped this opinionated fluff ball up and cradled her in my arms to rub her belly. She closed her eyes and purred with satisfaction, and as I watched her tilt her head side to side, I caught sight of the healed over scars on my own arm. They were a few of the many scars this cat had inflicted on me as a scared and angry kitten.  I was surprised to see they were still there.  I was surprised to see them and then realize that I felt a deep love for the kitten that had put the scars there.  As I pondered this, I felt God murmur in my heart, I know the feeling.

You were living in a place of death, but I rescued you
You hated me, but I loved you
You hid from me, but I found you 
You ran away, but I pursued you
You lashed out against me, but I forgave you
You were diseased, but I healed you
You were anemic, but I gave you life
I gave you good things, but too often you turned away 
You were scared, but I waited for you trust
You wanted the wrong thing desperately, but I protected you
I know what is best for you, even when you don't like it
And when I see the scars I took on your behalf,  I do not feel regret. Only love.

And so as I stood there, and rubbed my cat's tummy, I gained a new appreciation for how great my God is.  Because of this when I look at my cat, I am reminded of God's great love for me.  I am reminded that God went to great efforts to love me, and that I was not incredibly lovable.  Even during those times when I vehemently tell him to take his love and shove it, he relentlessly loves me.

Much to my cat's disappointment, I do not consider her a god. She is simply a consistent reminder of God's great patience, mercy and love for me. 

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.

                  1 John 4:18-19