Love received
God “speaks” gently to us, trying to get us to learn the sound of His voice. He provides what we need in life, trying to get us to learn to trust Him. He “is there” for us.
On Aug. 3, I wrote about two new kittens Michael found in our back yard. He named one kitten Gray Baby, and the one he claimed for his own was named BittyKitty.
As Michael went out to feed them, he spoke gently, getting them accustomed to his voice, and entreated them to come to him. However, mama cat was still here training them, so the babies stayed with her and wouldn’t come up to us. But they watched as Michael sat down and put food in their dishes.
Gray Baby slowly got a little bolder. Not allowing herself to be held or loved on, Baby nervously allowed herself to be touched. Bitty and mama looked on and we thought they would eventually follow, but life changed. Bitty walked off one day and never came back. Mama cat comes back two or three times a week.
Now Michael began pouring himself into Gray Baby every chance he got. Spending more time at the feeding area, he put tasty morsels into the bowl that Baby could not resist. Now, with her desire for the tasty tidbits overshadowing her fear of a human, she had to endure being touched to make sure she got the goodies.
Michael continued talking gently, spending more time with her … giving her more goodies. Then, one day, it happened.
Baby was sitting near the feeding bowl waiting for her benefactor. As the human approached, Baby walked up and began talking (meow style) to him. Michael said that they talked with each other for about 12 minutes as he sat there.
Still, Michael didn’t try to pick Baby up or corral her but continued to “be there” for her as someone who loved and cared for her. This continued for about a month.
One morning Michael came back into the house overjoyed with something to tell us.
“Baby let me hold her! She talked with me as I cradled her in my arms! When I put her down, she came back and wanted to be with me, so I sat back down and loved on her for at least 15 minutes. She almost followed me back to the house until she remembered there were other humans in there.”
And it’s been the same for the past couple of weeks. Michael’s persistent gentleness, his refusal to give up on Baby, his continuous love for her won her heart, mind and emotions. She’s not ready for other humans, but she is wide open to the one she allowed into her life.
Do you realize that God does the same with us? Many people who don’t know Him stay away; they are afraid to get close to Him. God is beyond their comprehension, and they can’t understand that God is the one who provides for them and looks after them. Not reading the Bible, they don’t know the truth in James 4:8 that says, “Draw near to God, and He’ll draw near to you.” And they won’t allow God to come into their lives.
My understanding of that verse is: If I learn to know the Lord and decide to live for Him, I’ll realize that God has always been close to me. John 3:16 and many other verses tell us that God loves us. In fact, He loves us so much that He, in the form of Jesus, gave His life for us so that we may be forgiven of our errors, mistakes, and sin, and live with Him forever.
At first, we may be afraid to open up to
Him. We may not understand His motives, His thoughts, and His desires for us. And we really may not understand His love for us.
But God doesn’t let any of that bother Him. As Michael didn’t give up on Gray Baby, God doesn’t give up on us. God “speaks” gently to us, trying to get us to learn the sound of His voice. He provides what we need in life, trying to get us to learn to trust Him. He “is there” for us.
Gray Baby lost her fear of Michael, received his love, and is living a much better life than she would living in the wild. In like manner, as we lose our fear of submitting our wills to the Lord, as we learn to know Him, we will experience the undying love and compassion God has for us, and we’ll have a much better life than we would merely living for ourselves.