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Monday, November 12, 2007

An afternoon with Cleo

Cleo is our cat. She loves it when I open the front door, so she can sit and look out the glass door. At times she will lay on on rug and relax, but usually she is quite alert, watching whatever is going on outside. You can see that she is intently watching something. The something this time is the neighbors cat who was wandering in our yard.

I heard her batting the door and I found the two cats, face to face with only the glass separating them. She wasn't upset, just wanted to get out.


After the cat left, another temptation came by. If you look closely you will see that a chipmunk is sitting on the edge of the porch. This was even more upsetting than the cat had been. Now she really wanted to get outside!


The chipmunk stayed there for about 15 minutes before putting Cleo out of her misery. As I watched her, it struck me that we are often like our cat. We keep her inside to keep her safe. We have had two cats get killed because they were outside. She doesn't understand that it is in her best interest to stay in. She wants to get out and play with the neighbor cat or run after a chipmunk. In the same way, God gives us boundaries and sometimes says no to things we want. We may not understand at the time, or possibly never in this life. However, we can be sure that God does know what is best for us and that his way is always in our best interest.



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20 comments:

Megan Cobb said...

Parenting. Cat Ownership. God with his little children. Yep. And I wonder if God feels sad to tell us no. Or grits His teeth, like I do when I have to tell Bean no and I know she's going to get all bent out of shape about it. Because OH, the whining.

Cheri said...

I love how intent Cleo is when she's watching what's happening in the yard. She's so cute!

Terri said...

Great analogy. I think a lot about that with the kids but tend to forget it when it concerns Me!
Cleo is awfully cute! What's Heather been up to? I'm looking for a new post from her soon!!!

Anonymous said...

oh Mari, that is so great! I have 3 cats. your cat is so involved with that chipmunk. awesome pictures!!

sharon brobst said...

So true Mari! As I thought about your analogy I thought, yep sometimes I can be looking so intently at what I think I want out there I miss those things I could be doing inside.

Mari thank you so much for your encouragement. It's nice to hear about those prodigals that God does woo unto hinself. We can just keep praying...my prayer is that Adam's heart would grow to love God with his whole heart. For if we love God, we will be obedient and want to follow him.

Melissa said...

Great analogy. You gotta love Cleo! :)

I'm Tara. said...

I love the way you thought about this and am wholeheartedly agreeing with you. I'm usually a big, fat whiner about not getting my way, and then SO glad I didn't when I see how it all went. (And then again so very grateful that He is so much bigger than I am.)

Bonnie said...

Look at that chipmunk just sitting there - probably thinking "nanny nanny boo boo, you can't get me !" ha ha. I love chipmunks ! We don't have them here ... we don't have squirrels either. I loved showing both of those to the kids while we were in the States earlier this year !!

Sarah Markley said...

I love it! Cleo is very cute (ours is Rosie). I'm happy the chipmunk was happily behind the glass!

A Stone Gatherer said...

Mari, thanks for sharing! Isn't it amazing how God can teach us truths through simple every day things! So true, I'm glad he's got my best interest at heart. If I had my way I'd be in a terrible fix!

Diane said...

That sounds like a great sermon topic! I love it when God puts those visuals in our heads to make a point or remind us of something! Thanks, Mari, for sharing this with us and for making the connection!

Rebekah said...

Great observation. Love the red door.

Laura said...

Cleo is so funny. She better enjoy that open door while she can because soon - brrr!

That's a great analogy too. I think I need to learn to work inside my house instead of always finding ways to get as close to the door as possible! :)

Dena said...

What an insightful day with Cleo! Poor thing looks tormented by all the fun she thinks she's missing!

Renee said...

This is great!! :)

My husband used to have a cat named Cleo. She was something else!! She's actually partly responsible for bringing us together.

T♥RI said...

That's alright if you don't have any ideas. Way to go for being able to connect Cleo to God. I don't remember what else you said in the comment on mine, so I'll go back and read it and if it was anything I needed to comment you back on, I'll be right back. Otherwise nevermind.

Unknown said...

Oh, the poor lil' kitty, wants to get those other critters so bad.
I love the connection you came up with God overseeing our lives. Sure glad He does.

Anonymous said...

Oh i miss her

Anonymous said...

I love it when God takes a small thing like even our pets and teaches us BIG lessons.

Great post Mari!

The Birds Nest said...

I love it!!! Great post!!! You got some really fun pics of Cleo. Don't you just want to know what your pets are thinking??