I was there all along

Last spring a stray cat brought her 5 kittens into our garage. They were about 4-5 weeks old – just starting to learn to eat. Although she was tame, her kittens were very wild. We were able to tame three of them pretty quickly, but the other two wouldn’t budge. The solid black one, which we later named Pepper, and her sister, which we later named Pumpkin were tough cases. Pumpkin would at least be in my presence, but wouldn’t let me near her. Pepper, however, would run and hide the minute she saw me and stayed hidden until I was gone – there was no getting near her. I liked the other 4 kittens, they were pretty cute, tame, and playful, but I didn’t really care for Pepper - she was so wild, and she wasn’t very cute, I found it hard to find something likable about her.

Eventually, we found homes for the three tame kittens and were resolved to the fact that the mother cat and wild kittens would be staying. Over the next couple of months, Pumpkin became a bit more tolerable, she would eat if I was there, but I still wasn’t able to pet her. Pepper didn’t budge, she was still just as wild as she was when she was a tiny kitten.

When kittens were probably around 6 months old, their mother disappeared. After she was gone two or three days, Pumpkin decided that I “would do” and would accept me petting her. She would come up to me willingly whenever I went out to fed them. Pepper gave in a little too, she would be in my presence, but still no chance of petting her. She was very stubborn. She didn’t need me, she still had Pumpkin.

Earlier this spring, Pumpkin was hit by a car. After the first day, my heart was broken for Pepper. She sat out on our back patio and cried and cried waiting for Pumpkin. At this point her mother was gone, her sister was gone (and she didn’t like me). She seemed so lost and didn’t know to do. Even though she had never let me near her, I stepped out onto the patio, knelt down and called her to me. She didn’t run away, and after a minute or two came over to me and even let me pet her.

Since then, she has turned out to be a beautiful cat. We became fast friends, anytime she hears me coming, she runs to me excited for any attention I have for her. One thing that I always tell her is that – I was there all along! Look at all of the love and attention she had missed, if she had only trusted me from the beginning!

I think about our relationship with Christ. Are we stubborn? What are we missing out on? Do we wait until we are in a crisis, in time of trouble, when we feel alone, and have nowhere else to turn before we turn to Christ, when he was there all along? Or are we taking advantage of his goodness every day.