The week before Thanksgiving, Jordan and I were found by a stray kitten who would teach me more in 24 hours about God's love than any 2 day Christian conference could. Earlier this year, I had been encouraged by my writing coach to attend the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. We took her advice and with Covid we took some extra precautions. The conference was less than a month after our 1 year anniversary so Jordan rented us an AirBnB that was within 9 minutes of the conference center. That way we could also enjoy a second honeymoon.
It was absolutely lovely. The drive took us about 7 hours, but it was through the Blue Ridge Mountains. There was still some color on the trees and the weather was perfect. My husband and I are deep lovers of fall, of the mountains, and of small towns; we had hit the jackpot with Black Mountain, NC! I felt completely in my element at the conference as well. The feeling of being in a room with 200+ Christians who all write, and who all want you to succeed as a writer...I felt so many layers of doubt slip off from around my shoulders. I gained a level of confidence in my ability as a writer that I don't know I would have had I skipped the conference - or even had attended virtually! There is just something so special about being in a room with other writers, others who understand what it takes to be a writer.
The week was everything I could have ever wished it to be, but God had a little something extra special for us. I never expected that God would use a kitten to show me a depth to His love for His children. But, then again, why should I expect God to be predictable?
Doraleous; our little Dora.
I lost my heart to this little guy the moment I saw him. So did my husband. And I think that is how God feels about us the first time He sees us in His minds eye. I think He falls so desperately in love with us that He has no choice but to create us and give us life so that He can spend all of our lives gazing at us lovingly. I wonder if this is true because that is how I feel when I look at Dora or at our other two fur babies, Neebs and Greyson. My heart bursts with love when I see them. If I can love three cats this deeply, how much more deeply does our Heavenly Father love us?
This truth about how God loves us hit me hard as we were driving out to Dora's vet appointment. He had appeared in our lives the day before we were supposed to leave and just as suddenly disrupted the rest of our trip. We had had plans to go into Asheville for the day on Thursday after the conference was over, but then Dora appeared at the cabin we were renting. Once we found out he wasn't chipped or fixed, we decided unanimously that God had given him to us to take home and adopt.
How would this work with two older male cats at home? Could we have 3 cats in our 1100 square foot home? Were we doing the right thing taking him away from the only home he had ever known?
These were valid questions that we had to face head on, but God had gotten a hold of both Jordan and my hearts. We knew that Dora had been sent to us for us to help. He was shivering when he crawled into Jordan's arms for warmth; he was starving, and we had never been around a cat who was so snuggly or sweet. We weren't going to give him up to anyone if we didn't have to.
We were driving through the mountains and I was holding Dora on my lap, looking out the window at the sun filtering through the trees and I heard it. God's voice. Not a booming voice, but as a simple whisper what went right through my heart and settled into my spirit.
"The wild nature of his upbringing is the same wild nature of your heart when you come to Me for the first time. But like how he has responded to your gentle, loving touch, that is how your heart responds when it has chosen Me. You have tamed him and claimed him as your own simply by loving him, just as I have claim to your heart simply by loving you. Every time you respond to My loving and gentle touch, a bit more of that wild nature gets smoothed out and is replaced by a sense of peace and safety."
If I didn't know it before then, I knew in that moment that Dora was created for us. Since getting him home, we have had our tough moments. Meeting his older brothers didn't go as smoothly the first night as we had hoped, but it is worlds better now than it was three weeks ago. Dora and I have had our own tough moments - as a kitten he plays very rough with me - but as I put up boundaries with him, our relationship grows more loving and tender. Which is yet another lesson I am being taught in all this.
As a people group, we humans can be uncomfortable with boundaries. However, it is within healthy boundaries that we thrive. We need them in every relationship whether it's romantic, familial, or a friendship. It's the same with our relationship with God. The more I have sought Him and His boundaries for my life, the healthier I feel. I actually thrive more! I feel more tender towards God, and He feels more tender towards me. That then pours over into my marriage, my job, my friendships, and the relationship I have with family. It's when I do not seek where my boundaries are that I find that old wounds are rubbed and then I end up hurting others.
Just like a kitten learning how to play with his new parents.
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