We have two cats; one is old and one is young, and that is only the first of their night-and-day personalities.
The old cat is quiet and reserved, deliberate and unsure of herself. The young one is loud and outgoing, reckless and cock-sure.
Every morning we give them each a little bit of soft (canned) cat food. They both like the same kind (thankfully) so I get it ready for them and put it down for them to eat. And every morning it's the same routine, the same time frame.
The old cat waits quietly for her food. There is no fuss, there is no bother. She just watches me and when she sees that her food is ready, she follows me, eyes on the dish, until I set it on the floor. She licks at the food, savouring every morsel. She looks up and into my eyes, the kitty way of saying, "Thank you," before returning to the food in front of her.
The young one, on the other hand, only has to hear me in the kitchen when the wailing starts. He yowls and meowls as if I would never put his food down for him unless he insisted on it. All through the preparation, he reminds me that the food is not on the floor for him. He paces, he sits up and begs, he gets right underfoot, and the noise never stops until the food is on the floor. Then he zooms to the bowl and he gloms right into it without even a glimmer of "Thank you" until he's half-way through the meal. In half the time it takes the older cat, he is done and bugging her to let him have her leftovers. Sometimes he succeeds and she abandons her prize just for a little peace. He noses into the bowl and she glides away, looking for us to let her out onto the deck to let the sun warm her old joints.
I got to thinking about prayer as I watched them yesterday morning. Some people yell and scream and rant and rave and use all kinds of repetition, as if somehow God was deaf or senile and needed to be reminded that we were still here, that the answer hasn't come yet, and boys oh boys You better hop to it!! And some just stay with Him, in His presence, positioning themselves to be blessed by a Hand they know is connected to the Face they love.
The answer comes to both. Just like every day it takes the same amount of time to get our cats' food ready, and I feed it to both of them. Yet I enjoy feeding the older one more, because of the trust I see in her. The younger one hasn't learned to trust yet; he is still stuck in the mind-set that he has to DO something to make it happen faster. When he realizes that it comes anyway, regardless of how much yowling he does, he might not be so frantic.
I hope.
The old cat is quiet and reserved, deliberate and unsure of herself. The young one is loud and outgoing, reckless and cock-sure.
Every morning we give them each a little bit of soft (canned) cat food. They both like the same kind (thankfully) so I get it ready for them and put it down for them to eat. And every morning it's the same routine, the same time frame.
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| Angel, 13 years old, soaking up some sun. Taken today, May 18, 2014 |
The young one, on the other hand, only has to hear me in the kitchen when the wailing starts. He yowls and meowls as if I would never put his food down for him unless he insisted on it. All through the preparation, he reminds me that the food is not on the floor for him. He paces, he sits up and begs, he gets right underfoot, and the noise never stops until the food is on the floor. Then he zooms to the bowl and he gloms right into it without even a glimmer of "Thank you" until he's half-way through the meal. In half the time it takes the older cat, he is done and bugging her to let him have her leftovers. Sometimes he succeeds and she abandons her prize just for a little peace. He noses into the bowl and she glides away, looking for us to let her out onto the deck to let the sun warm her old joints.
I got to thinking about prayer as I watched them yesterday morning. Some people yell and scream and rant and rave and use all kinds of repetition, as if somehow God was deaf or senile and needed to be reminded that we were still here, that the answer hasn't come yet, and boys oh boys You better hop to it!! And some just stay with Him, in His presence, positioning themselves to be blessed by a Hand they know is connected to the Face they love.
The answer comes to both. Just like every day it takes the same amount of time to get our cats' food ready, and I feed it to both of them. Yet I enjoy feeding the older one more, because of the trust I see in her. The younger one hasn't learned to trust yet; he is still stuck in the mind-set that he has to DO something to make it happen faster. When he realizes that it comes anyway, regardless of how much yowling he does, he might not be so frantic.
I hope.
