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By Kathy Burgdorf, a good friend of a good friend
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Our cat was very afraid! He did not know what was happening. I had just been holding him and he was all snuggled in, a tiny purring machine. But it was time to put him in the cat carrier to take him to his new forever family.
I had lined the carrier with a soft piece of flannel. I added food and water so that he’d have access to it. All of his needs were provided.
But still, he was so agitated that he dumped the water and I had to take him out and start over. This time I skipped the water, because I knew he would have fresh water soon enough.
We loaded the car and headed off. He meowed and meowed, trying to poke his nose and paws through the holes in the crate. Eventually, he settled into an uneasy truce with his situation. But he was never totally comfortable. He’d doze off for a while and the next time I looked he was uneasily looking around to see if he’d maybe missed a possible escape route. Throughout the entire 40 minute trip, he was on edge.
We met up with the man who was very excited to take him home to meet his wife and children. I knew that he would have a good home.
On the way home, I started thinking…. How many times are we like that kitten? God has an amazing plan for our life. He provides for our needs. He can see exactly what is best for us. He sees the big picture and knows that our discomfort and fear are not only temporary, but necessary.
Are there times when we feel, “This can’t be right! There’s no WAY this can be God’s will.” And yet He makes sure that we have the necessities – often even giving us a flannel lining. We cry out to be released. We “spill our water” as we struggle to find something else, and He has to clean us up along the way.
And yet He still keeps us in the very situation from which we are trying so hard to escape. I am so thankful that we serve a perfect Father who knows us inside and out. One who is willing to put us in tough places to bring us to His perfect plan. Trust Him even when you can’t see where He’s taking you.
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Romans 8:28 — We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Proverbs 3:5-6 — Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Psalm 112:7 — They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 116:10 — I trusted in the Lord when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”
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O God in heaven, I thank you that you do not require me to comprehend you and your ways; for if that were required, I would be most miserable. The more I seek to comprehend you, the more incomprehensible you are. Therefore, I thank you that you require only faith, and I pray that you increase my faith in you. Amen.
— adapted from a prayer by Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)