A God moment via my cat

Hang with me on this one.

The superstar in our house is Topper, a black and white cat who is from another world. He's a Wisconsin Humane Society gem worth every penny of the $100 it takes nowadays to adopt. We thought he'd be a nice addition to Jetty, our cranky old girl cat. Oops.

He is developing an eye condition that might cause him to go blind. As it is, his eyes are cloudy and his vision is impaired though he is totally unaware of it. He might not be able to spot the spider on the floor but he's very able to navigate the house to cause various sorts of trouble. He makes us laugh every single day---many times.

As I enjoy my morning quiet time at the kitchen table with coffee, Bible, and Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest, both cats circle to be fed. I throw a scoop of food in their dishes and get back to gettin' with God. Inevitably--Topper will gobble his and leave only to return and move to his sisters dish.

"No" I say. He knows it's not his and if I get up he will scoot to his dish, less than 4 feet away. Fine. Except, 3 minutes later he's back at Jetty's dish. We repeat the process...the "No", the scoot to his dish. Then, about 4 minutes later---it happens again. Not the brightest bulb.

I love this cat. He's good natured, likes to purr, is curious and playful. He follows people around, plops down in everyone's way, and has the most jarring cry ever uttered by a feline. And with the eye condition and his fairly selfish nature, a flawed creation.

Here's what Topper helped me understand about God.

He's happiest when he is getting something HE wants. He'll take what ISN'T his and when chastised, take a break and then get RIGHT back at it. In Topper's world, it's all about Topper. Yet, I love him unconditionally--smiling at his antics and being patient with his naughtiness. He is a delight to me.

Sound familiar? We're a bunch of Toppers to God. Loved beyond belief, we are disobedient and we know it. We're happy getting what we want---and then want more. We halt improper behavior but then are right back at it. And we expect God to keep filling the dish when we want it. Our cries are selfish.

God's grace to me isn't anything new but the a-ha moment He gave me recently while praying then chasing Topper from the dish was nothing short of brilliant. We are flawed but we are LOVED. We disobey but we are LOVED. We cry out for ourselves alone, but we are LOVED.

I hope I made the point--the rest of the house is still sleeping and I'm hearing someone nosing around on the counter ready to push a glass onto the floor.