We almost lost the cat. Not that I'm particularly fond of cats and, normally, the loss of one would be nothing less than a small speed bump in my day. However, this cat belonged to my son's girlfriend, and since we're fond of her, the cat becomes part of the deal. Besides, my son Chris felt terrible, as I guess he should have, and a parent never wants to see his son set up to live a life filled with guilt. Perhaps I should back up.
Chris, that would be one of my sons, was heading back to St. Cloud. Jessica, his girlfriend, was taking him. They stopped by the house to pick up Chris' stuff, and happened to have her two cats with them. Chris, the ever polite host, decided to introduce the cats to Buddy. Buddy would be our dog. He's part Black Lab and part Pit Bull, but more important to this story, he's not a big fan of cats. As it turns out, the cats weren't big fans of dogs either. At least, they weren't fans of dogs that are part Black Lab, and part Pit Bull.
As I was trying to find some bandages for Chris' scratches, he explained to me what had happened. It was a short introduction, really. Apparently, Buddy stared at the cats for a few seconds, and the cats stared at Buddy. It was somewhere during this stare-down, that the cats simultaneously decided that they did not truly, in their hearts, want to meet Buddy.
Since Buddy is a special creature, in the end, it was a loss for the cats. Unfortunately, Chris suffered some real consequences for the last minute decision on the part of the cats. They were in a hurry to get away but Chris, determined lad that he is, tried holding them with everything he had in him. After a short but fierce battle, one did get away, and the other may have suffered some damage from Chris' hands around his neck. Chris suffered from numerous scratches, but fortunately, Buddy came away from the incident unharmed.
In the end, however, it was the lost cat that became the focus of our attention. Jessica and Chris walked around looking for it. Acting the part of the concerned parent, I got in the car and drove around to take a look. Actually, I was thinking about how ironic it would be if a scared cat ran in front of my car and…..well… never mind.
The bottom line is, the cat was missing. The owner, along with several friends, was looking for it. Chris felt certain that he would be in the dog house….no pun intended…for the foreseeable future, and I was trying to decide what I should have for supper.
Chris must really care for this young woman, because he was devastated. And, I'm fairly certain that it wasn't because of his attachment to the cat. Chris and I decided to take a slow walk around the neighbor's house, and guess what? O.K. you guessed it. Not that difficult really. We found the cat huddled, kind of paralyzed with fear, under an old piece of plywood.
That's pretty much the end of the story. Chris was more relieved than I've ever seen him. Jessica was happy. Neither cat will ever be the same, but Buddy's pretty much his same old self.
As I reflected on it, though, it occurred to me that many Christians spend much of their life huddled fearfully in what they think is a safe hiding place. They've been scared. Maybe because of some terrible sin. Or, perhaps, they've been frightened by the "religious" community. It could be that, like Buddy and the cat, Satan has growled at them, and they looked for a safe place to hide.
That cat could have spent the rest of her life fearfully huddled under that piece of wood. But she would have missed the love, affection and attention of her master. The fear would have caused her to exchange all the great things her master had for her for a life of loneliness and emptiness.
Thank God for grace. Thank God that, even in those times when we might hide from him in fear, He's out looking for us. Just like he called to Adam when he tried to hide…..in grace, the Father calls to those of us who belong to Him. And when we leave our hiding place, he picks us up, holds us and carries us to a place of safety.
He's a marvelous God. I praise Him for His mercy and grace. I praise Him for His love. And I praise Him that He never gives up on His chosen, even when we've given up on ourselves. Even those times when we run away, and hide in fear.
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