Just Like A Cat:

Isn't Yahweh wonderful? Seems that sometimes when our walk with Yeshua is going smoothly and it seems like we're walking in what we think is in accordance with Him, He will throw something at us that causes us to realize that we're not what we crack ourselves up to be. Let me explain.

Simply put, I've never been a real big fan of felines. I'm more prone to liking dogs because they're friendly and even sort of goofy at times. Back in 1997 I had a morning ritual before I went to work. I would drive down to a local Carl's Junior restaurant where I would purchase breakfast in the drive-thru and then sit in a secluded part of the parking lot where I would meditate on Yeshua and pray about the stressful day that I knew would transpire.

Every morning at the same time I noticed that an elderly woman would park down at the end of the lot and she would set out food for a group of feral cats. I've never been one to accept wild animals living in the vicinity of civilization. Feral cats are a nuisance and they carry disease and they create other feral cats. Well, there must have been twenty wild cats in this area. I used to get angry at the woman who fed them. I thought, man, if she really cared she would catch them and get them spayed or neutered so that they could not reproduce. By just feeding them she was only helping to perpetuate the problem because they'd make more cats; as evidenced by all of them that were there already. My dislike of all of this was perpetuated by the local Animal Control office who informed me that they were not responsible for controlling animals and that they would not pursue the matter. Bureaucracy at its best.

So, one day I was sitting in that parking lot and I was talking to Yahweh. I told him that the situation really bothered me and that I, in effect really hated cats. I couldn't solve the problem, maybe he would, I mused. So in His ever so gentle voice I heard a question that He posed to me. He said, "why is it that you hate cats so much?" I told him that I didn't like that they were independent, that they were stubborn and that they never came when you called them. I figured that those were very good reasons to dislike cats and not want anything to do with them. Well, I heard His voice again and He said, "do you want to know why you hate cats?" I said, sure, I'd really like to know; half expecting Yahweh to confirm that I was right. Boy was I wrong. I again heard His voice and He said, "you don't like cats because all of the attributes that you listed describe you." I was floored by what He said, but at the same time there was no arguing with what He said to me. He described me to a tee. Then He started to show me areas in my life where this applied; and there weren't just a couple of areas, there were many.

I left the parking lot and drove to work. I was amazed at how He actually just talked to me, like he was sitting right next to me in my truck. I felt humbled by His message, but at the same time I felt privileged that He addressed me in such a way and with such a honest and direct manner. It was sort of like when we sit and reminisce about our youth and how we were disciplined by a parent and we knew they were right and are thankful that they loved us enough to administer discipline.

Well, I spent the rest of the day at work distracted as Yahweh showed me ways that I had been disobedient and I repented for each one. The Word that He gave to me impacted my life in a beautiful way and His words were not wasted on me. I'll forever be grateful for those few words that were voiced to me by our loving and caring Yahweh.