Welcome to My world!

"All I ever wanted was to love her," I told my daughter. It was then that God spoke so loudly in my ear that I almost went off the road.

"Welcome to My world" He shouted. At that moment, I truly got it. I understood fully what God has been saying in so many ways. He just wants to love us. That's all. He doesn't want stuff from us, He just wants to share a glorious and deep love with us.

I had been talking to my daughter on the way to school one morning was about a stray kitten that had shown up along with her mother and two brothers a few months before. At first they were wary of us and the mother actually hissed AND spit at me (I always thought that was an expression, I didn't know cats really could spit at you!)

As we spent more time with them, they remained wary and were hesitant to get too close. The two boys gradually grew more trusting and eventually would let us pet them and sometimes played inside the house. Unfortunately, the mother passed her deep distrust of humans down to her daughter, who we named Maggie.

Maggie was a beautiful cat with thick, short black hair and intelligent eyes. She would play in the yard with her brothers but was afraid to come in the house with them. My heart went out to her when I thought of the fear that had been placed in her by her mother. The boys didn't have that fear and were happy and carefree. Maggie, however, lived with stress and fear that wasn't necessary.

I tried everything to coax her to come near me and trust me, but to no avail. I despaired of ever having a real relationship with her and having her trust and come to love me as so many other cats had over the years.

That one morning, as I drove my daughter to school, I was speaking of the sadness I had in my soul and how I longed to just let Maggie know how much I loved her and that I didn't want anything from her. I just wanted to love her and her to love me.

It was then that God basically yelled in my ear, "welcome to My world!" The sound of His voice was a mixture of chuckling along with a tinge of sadness, and I understood instantly what He meant. He just wants to love us!

In the same way I wanted nothing material from Maggie, God wants nothing material from us, just love. When we accept His love, so much can happen in our lives as our relationship with Him grows and matures.

So from that moment on, my relationship with the Lord changed and grew just a bit. I saw more clearly His motives, and the benefits of returning that love in the form of trust, worship and fellowship.

And for those of you wondering about Maggie, she stayed mostly feral and kept her distance. Later on she had a small litter of kittens that we found in the yard next door. We were able to rescue them, both girls. One looks just like her uncle, Maggie's brother, and the other looks just like her mom.

Of the original group of cats that came to us, only one boy (the uncle above) who we named Samson, stayed and chose to be a real house cat. We took in Maggie's two baby daughters and raised them and named them Leelu and Rose.

Every time I look at Rose, I see Maggie's face, but instead of fear, there's love and trust there. Both girls love us and are dedicated lap cats. I am grateful that even though I couldn't have the relationship with Maggie that I had hoped for, I do with her brother and daughters.

Maggie moved on and we haven't seen her since. I pray often for Maggie, her brother and her mother, and ask Him to find them homes where they are loved and feel safe.

I can't help but think that if Maggie only knew how much love was available to her and if she had just made a leap of faith and trusted me just a little, how much better would her life be? With that one decision, she faces a life of struggle and cold, or one of warmth and love.

This is true for us too. God wants to love us! Remember, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1).

I am grateful that this experience provided me an opportunity to hear God's voice loud and clear and to better understand His love for us.