It will soon become obvious why there is no picture with this post.
Yesterday, something terrible happened. Driving to the grocery store, I noticed a woman across the road from her house retrieving her mail. Then, I noticed a cute orange cat at her feet, bumping up affectionately to its owner. I hit the brakes. Too late.
I turned the car around and apologized to the owner, who was not nearly as upset as me. She told me that the cat had been unusually clingy to her all day. But the cat had never crossed the road, so she had not given it a thought til she noticed the cat at her feet.
Sometimes all of our dedication and adoring blinds us to good decisions and boundaries. Our infatuations may draw us into hazardous situations, because we've lost good sense.
How do we know the difference? Perhaps the object of our love and adoration holds the answer? Do they have our best interest in mind? Are they looking out for those followers?
In yesterday's situation, the owner didn't wait to cross the road, not thinking of the effect of the devoted cat. With a blind dog, I've had a close call in a similar situation. It was a wake-up call that I have a huge responsibility to those animals (and people) with whom I have relationships. As winter will bring a partially frozen pond, I'll need to be more mindful of my own curious kitten.
God, who adores us, and whom we often adore, has our best interest in mind always. He doesn't forget about us on the other side of the road. If we find ourselves in harm's way, we're never forgotten, even if we are not spared pain. God, who did not spare his own son, will never lead us where he himself has been without a reason that is for our good and his glory, as mysterious and confounding as that can be.
Oh how horrible . . . it probably helped that the cat owner didn't seem too upset but still I cringe when I see any animal in the road. Especially mine ! 2 of the 3 cats I have are allowed outside because I (like yourself) have a changed outlook on letting them be the cats they were meant to be. They love chasing leaves and have caught a few mice in the garage. They are much healthier and by far happier than the indoor only cat (regrettfully I had him front-paw declawed) My terrier mix dog has the electric (underground) fence and my chihuahua mostly hangs out in the house except to do his job. So of my animals, the 2 cats that have the scary freedoms of going where they please is sometimes enough to give me an anxiety attack ! But they do have the good sense to "run", and i so mean "RUN" when they hear traffic.
ReplyDeleteGod does take care of us and even though this life has its horrible moments, we can count on Him to help us through.