Cat Lessons
A stray yellow cat adopted us. We checked with our neighbors, but no one would admit a missing cat. We named her Goldie and decided to keep her. Sometime later, we realized Goldie was expecting. Fat and slow, she moved like she was due soon. We prepared a good nest for her in a box in the basement. She seemed happy and spent a few nights there. One morning she appeared lean and gaunt. She had obviously given birth. We rushed to the basement, but there were no kittens in the nest. She had birthed them outdoors in the woods. We searched but could not find the kittens. That night a huge rainstorm passed through; and the following morning, a drenched mother cat and four kittens were in the nest. She had brought her litter inside. We went to bed happy with this find.
During the night, I kept hearing a kitten crying. Searching under the house, I discovered the crying was coming from inside the concrete block foundation. I crawled under the house with a hammer and chisel, hoping to rescue the kitten.
It took me some time to locate the block that seemed right. Then, I noticed Goldie right beside me watching closely. Together we selected a spot, and I began to chisel. Mother cat grew excited. I had to push her away. Soon I was able to extract a small, dirty kitten. Obviously, while moving the kittens from the wet outside to the warm inside, she had dropped this one down into the blocks. She seemed delighted when I placed it in the nest with the other four. By the next morning, she had fed and licked the kitten clean; it was sleeping soundly with its brothers and sisters.
There are multiple spiritual lessons in this story. The God-given instincts of a cat are overwhelming. I am certain Goldie never attended a “how to be a mother cat class” or read a Dr. Spock book. Still, she knew how to feed and care for her kittens.
Goldie’s understanding and care of my rescue efforts remind me of God’s rescue and care for humankind. It is common for us to err. Sometimes we do so mistakenly. Other times we do so willfully, deliberately. Regardless of our need or the reason for our mistakes, God still cares for us. He stands beside us and awaits our plea. That truth may well be what inspired Charlotte Elliott to pen the hymn, “Just As I Am.”
