Chewymom

Folks, I’m surrounded by cats. We have four as pets, along with two dogs. Thankfully so far we have not ventured into the reptile and rodent category of pets, unless you include Mr. Darcy, who still is not much bigger than a large squirrel. And is currently entertaining himself in the usual way–pulling Max’s tail, and then running for cover and then starting the process all over again.

Cats are so different than dogs. My cats busy themselves doing their own thing. They will sometimes follow me from room to room, but they keep a safe distance. I can coax them to come if I walk into the laundry room and rattle their food bowl. Occasionally a couple of them will approach me to be petted. Of course, Serafina still prefers to sleep practically on my face for at least part of the night, and to purr and sharpen her claws on my back. She is not normal. But the others are typical cats–keeping their distance, waiting for me to offer them something, and then going on with their own busy lives of sleeping and grooming.
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And lately that has felt like my life. You knew this post wasn’t just going to be about cats! Do you ever feel that way? Maybe it is the life of a busy woman–wife, friend, mother, lover. Right now it feels like I am surrounded by cats–people who go on about their own lives, which are legitimately busy, and who come around at feeding time. Or whatever. It feels like I have to dangle a carrot–er some catnip, in keeping with my theme–like I have to offer something others want before they come around. I feel this need to always have the right catnip on hand, and I have an intense fear that if I run out, the cats will no longer want to come around. And it isn’t that I’m surrounded by bad cats people. They’re just busy people, like me, overwhelmed with their own lives, and probably feeling rather like they, too, are surrounded by cats.

Sometimes I just want a Mr. Darcy. Someone who adores me. Who follows me around, waiting to see what I need or what I want. Who waits for the moment that I sit down so he can just hop in my lap and lick my face like he hasn’t seen me in a week, when in fact it has only been about five minutes. I want to be pursued from room to room in my life.
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I want the Hound of Heaven! And that is Jesus. He pursues me when I am weary, sad, tired, running from Him. He is not a Mr. Darcy who loves on me for a while, but who is then distracted by more entertaining things like Max’s tail! No, his focus is all on me, and he does not rest until he has found me and brought me back before the father. And actually, even then he does not rest, because he knows I will again and again need to pursued and loved relentlessly.

This morning I am praying for the strength and love to continue to be a cat-herder. And I can only do it because ultimately, a hound is after me.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 8:22 am and is filed under Biblical Thinking, Mommy Musings, Pets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.