TGIF
Miss Kitty didn’t come home last night.
We have an evening routine…about 9:00 PM Chester and Miss Kitty and I get ready for bed.
Everyone is inside, has their evening snack, and then gets situated in their sleeping quarters.
Chester likes to sleep in my computer chair and Miss Kitty sleeps on the bed next to me.
Sometimes, she gets in the chair simply to confuse Chester.
This amuses us both… Chester, not so much…
In any case, this has been our routine for some time now.
Last night, Miss Kitty was nowhere to be found at 9 o’ clock.
Or at 10.
Or 11…
I searched for her around the neighborhood until midnight, when I had to lay down myself.
I didn’t sleep.
Couldn’t sleep.
Finally, at quarter to four this morning, the door flew open and she burst in…hungry and disheveled, but safe.
I fed her and rejoiced that my friend was home.
She’s catching up on her sleep now.
I will have to wait a while before I can.
All of this of course, turns my thoughts to God.
I was overjoyed when that door opened up and Missy bounded in.
I didn’t care where she had been or why she hadn’t come home at the usual time…all that mattered was that she was home.
I wasn’t angry with her, indeed, I opened up a can of tuna fish I’d been saving for the cats to celebrate her return.
When she was fed, I embraced and petted her until we both fell asleep.
Some of you have been separated, alienated, from God for a while now.
You think about going home, but you wonder if He even wants you back.
You need to know He’s been wide awake waiting for you.
He doesn’t care where you’ve been,what you’ve done, or what you’ve said.
He just wants you to come home, be safe, and be fed.
He loves you more than I love that cat.
He always leaves the door open…
Make your own application…
Amen seems insufficient, but here it is with a gentle nod of agreement.
Glad Miss Kitty is home & OK.
AA…me too!
Love it!!!
Beautiful!!! Great “sermon illustration”…and SO glad Miss Kitty is home safe. Little rascal.
So glad you got miss kitty home safely where she belongs. Glad you got at least a little sleep. maybe you can get in a nap today? At any rate betting both of you will be sleeping well tonight.
Well done on the application above, as always. 😉
so grateful for both the happy ending and the application – thank You, Lord for Your mercies
my daughter loves her cats no matter what they do also, as two shredded chairs testify (yes they have good scratching posts, but chairs are better)…
i look at a cat and find it … interesting…
and then i wonder how one can lose one’s heart to it…
and then i think of Michael and these applications and realize that more than likely my reaction to cats (i do care that no bad things happen to them, BTW) and i think that that must be how the angels view me 🙂
p.s… if Miss Kitty could talk, i’m betting she’d tell you how that stupid dog chased her and she managed to escape up a tree, but had to be sure the dog was gone before she could climb down and come home… and she’s sorry you had to worry … dunno, tho, do i 🙂
Thanks for the kind words, all…
Love, love!!
The gospel illustrated sans scripture and it works beautifully!
“Donnie Boy” does that to my wife and I.
We can’t go to bed until he shows up safe inside the home.
We always fear coyotes and other imaginations during those unbelievably trying moments.
Thank God your little one came home safe.
The last thing you need in your life is the loss of your comforting little one.
This is so touching. Beautiful window into the heart of God.
So glad Miss Kitty came back home.
So very glad that God loves us so deeply and so eagerly!
So this is hitting really close to home for me. And I could use some advice and/or wisdom.
I love the picture you painted with the real life scenario Michael. I mentioned in another thread that I walked into the wilderness. But when I think that I would like to go back…all I see is the same crap I was doing before, i.e., the whole ‘church thing’. I’m not anti-church, I just don’t want to go back to the Matrix.
Does this resonate with anyone?
Bart,
Thanks…that probably resonates with most of our readers.
Yes, Bart, it resonates with more people than you know; after moving to a new town, I endured several years of totally unexpected church crap including spiritual abuse, and have been out of church now for the last decade….every time I think about going back — basically, to worship God in the community of His believers, I run face-first into the same stuff — lots of self-worship, social cliques, and judgment/condemnation — that drove me out of churches here to start with. Blessings on your journey.
“to worship God in the community of His believers, I run face-first into the same stuff — lots of self-worship, social cliques, and judgment/condemnation” … how has the family of God allowed these outlaws to dominate our gatherings?
has anyone run into this, overcome and stayed on? if so, how’d you do that?
Beautiful, Michael- thank you!
Glad Miss Kitty returned home ?
Bart @14 – Sarah @16 John @17
When God is calling us back to Himself, isn’t it to Himself? The church is a body of believers who transcend an actual place. We are unified in our belief and trust in Him. As we run to Him, He receives us as Michael did Kitty. As we ask Him where to find fellowship He is faithful to lead us to a few faithful friends to go through the journey with. You will always need a few close comrades who understand you and care for you whether you are inside or outside the church system itself.
Just my thought on your question and comments.
Bart,
The Matrix is a painful and confusing place. I am scarred by it and the thought of going to church gives me all kinds of bad feelings…
You are not alone.