let's get personal

Yes, the Holy Spirit really can speak through cats. I've previously blogged about cat lessons on the acreage, so I'll just add another story to the growing lot of feline posts.

On June 16, Harriet, our resident, ferrol farm cat, had a litter of four kittens in our garage. I almost tripped on the scene as I went out to our garage cupboards for picnic table service. It wasn't but a few days later that Harriet decided to get her babes outside and away from the humans. Of course, having witnessed the birth, our children were intent on finding where she hid them, and after a few weeks and a few moves around the acreage, we took them back to the garage so we could begin to acclamate the kitties to people. With food and water close by and a shelter overhead, Harriet didn't object much to the move, and she continued to nurse her babes.

Week 3: Our kids had named the four with unisex names: Reilly, Taylor, Tracy, and Sam. It's hard to tell the gender of a small kitten! So cute were these balls of fluff!

Week 4: Sara pointed out a small little sore on Tracy's chest. Looked like a bug bite or small puncture wound.

Week 5: Tracy's wound had grown, was infected, and well, hideous. I was pulling weeds in the flower garden on a Sunday afternoon and overhearing Sara on the phone crying to a veterinarian on call for the weekend and telling him about Tracy's wound. I got on the phone and learned that Tracy most likely had "Bot Fly Parasite"...a parasite that made a hole to breathe by in Tracy's chest then morphed into a grub that was living under her skin! A high fever would come if this grub stayed put. So, off to the vet with Tracy and Sara, and Tracy gets the grub taken out of her body. They even put it in a jar for us to see. Gross!

Week 6: Sam got adopted by a friend of a friend. Tracy needed to be on antibiotics and keep the chest sore free from dirt so that it could heal. We headed on vacation to MN and decided to take all three kitties with us so that Tracy could heal and so that they could all wean and get litter trained. Seven hours of kittens in a cat carrier on our laps! And a week of fun having them in the cabin. Snuggly, funny, playful. And successful potty training (much easier than with dogs!)

Week 9: We've just said good-bye this week to Reilly, Taylor, and finally, Tracy last night. The ad in the swap sheet did the trick, and I took the kittens to "show them" to two homes mid-week who both took a kitty. Then, last night, another family came out to our place and took Tracy home with them. You wouldn't believe how I scoped out the people. Tried to ask questions and get a sense of how well I thought they'd love and take care of these kittens.

Now, get this. The other day, Nathan and his friends were in our garage and pulled a few ball bats out of a rubbermaid garbage can we use for sports equipment. A cat jumped out of the garbage can, and when Nathan looked down in the can, there were 4 little kittens...probably about 2-3 weeks old! Another cat from our acreage must have had them in there and we didn't even know it these past few weeks! Once found, she promptly strutted each kitten out by the scruff to an undisclosed location. We haven't found them. The chances of these kittens being killed and eaten out in the woods is great, and even if they survive, they'll be wild unless we begin to play with them soon. I don't really lose too much sleep about it, though, and honestly, my kneejerk response is that I don't want to take the emotional and physical time and energy to get involved with yet another litter. As of now, there's no personal connection with these kittens.

First Holy Spirit learning: I must get in personal with people so that I can come to know them, be known myself, appreciate and value the life of another, grow my heart in compassion. When it's personal, I find that I begin to authentically care for the wellbeing of people (animals), I better understand their real needs, and I grow compelled to take some action. Where there's connection and relationship, compassion and love have a chance to grow.

Second Holy Spirit learning: It's in my human nature to avoid and steer clear of getting personal. Relationships are messy. Especially when I get personal with people (animals) who have great need. Getting personal interrupts my agenda and life. Out of sight, out of mind is easier. And as I stay separate from those in need, I don't often even feel too badly, because compassion and love don't grow very well while I'm removed from getting personal.

And so that leaves me in a real negative cycle: I don't get involved personally, therefore I don't grow compassion, therefore I don't get involved because I don't have compassion. I figure that the only way that I can break this cycle is to intentionally discipline myself to get involved and get personal! Now, I know that there are such things as needed boundaries, but with that said, I would dare say that we could all be challenged somewhere, somehow to get personal with someone who may be quite different from us, someone who is in need today. Jesus may not have engaged in and healed everyone while he walked the earth, but he followed the Spirit's promptings and definitely got up close and personal with people.