Chair Stealer

Our cat, Gizmo, 
an eleven year old Himalayan, 
has a number of issues that would take 
days and days of blog posts to describe.

Gizmo is simply so silly, sometimes.

Gizmo tends to want whatever it is that someone else has, especially when it comes to a cozy place to sit.  I can be sitting in a chair reading for a few minutes, get up and walk about ten feet to refill a cup of coffee and by the time I return to my chair, Gizmo has tucked himself neatly into my spot.  Mind you, there are plenty of other chairs he could sit on and a roomy couch, too.  He literally appears out of nowhere_  it's as if he's lurking in the shadows just waiting to claim what clearly and rightfully belongs to someone else.  Momo, as we affectionately call him, steals chairs so frequently that the kids and I made up a little jingle explaining that he's a chair stealer.

As goofy as Momo's chair stealing may sound, believe me, chair stealing is just the tip of the simply so silly Gizmo iceberg.

Trust, or lack of trust, is another biggie in the lengthy list of "Giz-ssues".  I was told that the family we adopted Gizmo from when he was only two, had experienced some unfortunate domestic conflict. Giz, though very loved by one of his owners, began to hide and cower in fear which is why Gizmo was given up.  His rocky past seems to have had lasting repercussions.  To this day, from time to time Gizmo just wigs out for no reason whatsoever and looks at us, his family that has fed, loved and cared for his every need for nearly a decade, as if one of us is about to attack.  Seriously, one minute you can be cheerfully talking to Gizmo, petting him and telling him what a handsome kitty he is as he joyfully purrs his curly whiskers off and the next, his tiny little ears fall back as if the wind has started to blow really hard, then he rears up on his hind legs and poses one perfectly mittened paw to prepare to pop you one wherever he can reach.

No, kidding.  We've all experienced Gizmo's flip flopping affection.  It's hilarious and sad all at the same time.  I mean, you'd think that after all of these years of love he could let his little guard down, relax a bit and soak up all of the rewards of being our precious pet without reverting so readily, to the fear.  After all, Momo has a home filled with love and affection, yet he continues to behave as if the other proverbial shoe is going to drop at any second making his safe and comfy world come violently crashing down.

Sometimes I wonder if God looks at me the way that I look at Gizmo.

How many times do I hesitate or even retreat before taking a simple step towards fulfilling a small act of kindness that my spirit felt compelled to offer a friend, neighbor or family member?  Inside my head and heart I hear the implied doubt and mistrust putting in their worthless two cents as soon as the notion to do something nice crosses my mind.  What if they don't like it when I send them an encouraging card or email?  What if I call and they don't want to talk and take my call as an act of prying and self service?  Maybe they don't even really like me all that much?  Finally, I conclude that the little nudging on my heart that made me think of doing something nice is nothing more than a bad idea.  Yes,  I allow myself to believe, if I do this nice thing that I'm thinking of doing, surely something bad is going to happen!

Simply so silly, God must be thinking to himself as he watches me discard those thoughts of doing something nice for someone for fear of rejection, blatantly dismissing his precious prompting.  Simply so silly, he likely shakes his head and looks ahead to just how many years of faithfulness  he will have to show me before I finally accept that when I feel the nudge to do something nice I can trust that the best thing to do is to just do it!

If you hear me on nothing else, believe me when I say that in my experiences so far, even the slightest inclination to do anything good for anyone else without expecting something in return is beyond our human capabilities except for the when the goodness of God comes pushing through the junk because he wants nothing more than for us to experience the incredible joy that comes from giving.

How many times, may I ask, have you caught yourself deciding against making that phone call to a friend you haven't heard from in a long time?  How many times did you not just drop a card in the mail to the person that you heard was going through a difficult time and could use some cheering up?  How many times have you skipped buying that cup of coffee for your coworker  and skipped calling your brother just because you want them to know that you care?

Dear God,
Again, I want to start my prayer buy saying a great big thank you for all of the little things that you have been bringing to my attention over these past two weeks of praying to you in conversational prayer.  Even everyday stuff like our crazy little cat  is helping me think of life in terms of the bigger picture that I believe you want me to see.

I want to be free to be myself and act on the heart nudges to do something nice without any second guessing.  I want to be able to sense your touch on my thinking and obey whatever it is that you place on my mind to do without weighing any possible outcome.

Help me to trust you.  I know I keep repeating that request but honestly, I still need to ask for your help to trust more fully.

I'm sure you understand the doubt that causes me to back away from the opportunities to give freely and invest in another 'just because' but I do think that enough is enough!

There's an old saying that no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.  Well, that's how I want to view the nudges on my heart that you so generously provide.  You want me to experience the pure goodness that comes from being a giver like you.  You are the one who inspires every thoughtful idea and action that I have and I want to honor your gift to me by sharing whatever it is that you suggest, with whomever you place on my heart.

My phone is charged, my stamps are ready and I'm already logged on.

Whenever you're ready, God.

:o)
____________________________________________________________________

A song from a few years ago just came to mind and it fits the idea that just like my strange little cat, we could all use a little fixing. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skUJ-B6oVDQ