Monday, February 23, 2009

On the occason of havng our cat back or What's been So Amazng about you all

You can see that am typng on my lap top and have no ''s and no 's. went back and cut them all n t would tae hours, so 've only done a few.

So as you all now, we've been prayng for our cat rather desperately from the moment he went mssng. And we've gone back over the day and wee over and over n our mnds, tryng to fgure out what happened and what we ought to have done dfferently. We've worred, we've confessed our sns, and we've prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed for ths cat.

ts an nterestng exercse, prayer and belef. Of course, we now perfectly well that God can do whatever he wants, even and ncludng worng n the heart and mnd of a very scared and unreasonable anmal to move hm to do what he ought to do and go home. We see God's mracles all the tme around us, but when t comes down to the wre, ts been very hard for me to beleve that he would Want to brng my cat home, that he mght be worng out hs perfect wll and purpose n our lves every moment, not just sprtually, but n the smallest physcal detals of lfe.

ts very foolish of me to doubt and not believe. As consider the care God too n brngng us here, when we could not see one step n front of another; the way he used friends, Christan community, our circumstances-everything-to care for us, provide for us, show us hs love. t has felt every day that he was pourng us out le water or a drn offerng, that we were beng splled out of hs cup nto the world n a most sudden and dscomftng way. And Yet, the cup never empted out. We have been blessed over and above what we could even have magned.

The wee we paced up, every day surprsng numbers of peope came and dove n. The people who welcomed us to Good Sheperd when we frst came, came that Monday and carefully and methodcally paced up all our chna and crystal. Romulus' wonderful Manou came every day n the mornng and cleaned and paced and dd laundry. Another wonderful frend too our laundry away and brought t bac clean for two wees. Frends from CC brought meals, too the olderds to do revew, and were so helpful on the days we went to CC n the mdst of all the chaos. The two days we actually moved, most of the men's Bble study, and some sterlng men from the Shepherd's Bowl wored n unbeleveable btter cold cheerfully and gracously, and Quly. One wee exactly from loosng the sut, we slept n the new house. Meals have shown up on our doorstep unannounced. Frends have come and helped clean and unpac

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen.

~R

Allison Elaine said...

Mother Anne,

Yippee! It's such a relief your fur-person is home. Can you tell if your dear cat spent most of the time outdoors, or trapped in your old house, or elsewhere? A cat in our neighborhood was once trapped in someone's garage for ten days while they were on vacation. He emerged substantially skinnier, and very much annoyed.

It's too bad your little guy can't sit down and give us a blog entry...

Anyway, thank God!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Anne.

Events out of my control have been getting to me. Your sharing of the lesson we know but so often begin to doubt, that He cares for the ones we love far more than we can desire or think, is especially encouraging this very moment.

May his blessings continue to flow through you, Matt and the Body of Christ in which Good Shepherd has found itself so warmly surrounded with acts of love --even to his four legged creatures.

Bob+

Unknown said...

Anne, what a wonderful post!

This sentence will stick in my mind for such a long time: the visible evidence of God's care -- it makes a stunning word picture!

And my small doubt in the love and care of God is made even more ridiculous by this glorious soft, warm safe kitty curled up with me, home finally.

Amen!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Anne for your clear witness about praying for your beloved family pet. I grew up with the idea that I should pray only for very SERIOUS things, so it's been a little difficult for me to incorporate pets--in my case mostly dogs, who have always played an essential role in my life--into my prayers. But slowly, I have realized that my pets have been avenues of Grace in my life, so, of course, they should merit my prayers along with my day to day concerns. I am relieved that the cat came back. It's like the last grace note to your incredible witness of God's love and care for your family through this trying, chaotic passage.

Anonymous said...

This is ME, your mother, and I've been going around in such happy joy to know that one lost cat, like one lost sheep, has been found. Banderly is like all of us -- afraid of the unknown, likely to run crazily in the wrong direction, and then when lost, stay lost out of fear of we know not what, and only ready for a rescue when things get so bad we start to waste away and be hungry and lonely and cold. But the Good Shepherd keeps looking and calling, just like you did, and carries us all home to be safe. So let this be part of my Lent meditation -- to be willing to be found, on the one hand, and to be willing to diligently seek and find those who are lost, on the other. May you all at Good Shepherd, and all the very fine critters, be most blessed this Lent.
x0x00x0 ME