A lesson from Cameron

Some of my more inspiring moments of revelation don’t come while I pray. No, more often than not, they alight during times of the mundane—and gritty—daily activities of my life. And if you know me, you know that part of my daily grit involves cats—and litter boxes.

So last night as I was scooping the litter pans, my darling Cameron helped to bring an ancient point home to me in a fresh way.

First some background. Cammie will be 18 years old in June. She’s a little slower, a little stiffer, and a lot more demanding than she used to be. Rowe, the eleven year old baby of the bunch, is 17 pounds of muscular energy who finds crotchety Cameron fascinating. He’s been known to stalk her as she wanders her way to the litter box, only to pounce on her just as she’s about to do her business.

Here’s my problem: Cammie refuses to use the litter pan without a human escort. So I take three daily trips downstairs to Litter Box Land, coaxing Cammie to wind her way to her pan. (Yes, her pan. She refuses to use either of the other two). After much (I mean much) coaxing, prodding, and encouragement, she goes. And that’s the short version.

Last night was no different. I called Cammie out of the little house I made for her out a doorless cat carrier and fuzzy towels and walked with her as she sniffed her way around the basement (I swear she’s part bloodhound). She paused often, looking this way and that to see where Rowe might be, and then continued with her sniffing. A 10-second walk to the litter pan takes five or ten minutes with her—but if I don’t escort her, she doesn’t go.

We finally made our way to the pan. Of course, she needed to sniff around the rim—some spots were so very interesting—and then of course, she couldn’t make up her mind which side of the pan she wanted to enter. As I waited on the queen, I thought to myself, “Might as well do something while I’m waiting!” and started sweeping the area around the three litter boxes, something I usually save for last—flying litter, and all.

Funny as this may sound, I instantly heard the Lord say inside of me, “That’s what you need to do while waiting on Me—get busy with other things.”

It hit me. Often we get so hyper-focused on waiting for the next thing or the next miracle that we do nothing while waiting. Sometimes a need or that next thing becomes our entire world. And that’s not what God wants.

Cameron, after circling in the pan several times, relieved herself, stepped out, and sniffed her way to a good spot under the table and waited to get her treats. And I finished sweeping, but with a little better insight into the whole waiting process.

So as you go through the mundane routine of your life, know that God’s not only with you but that He’s also liable to teach you a thing or two in the middle of your “same ole same ole”.

And as you wait for the next thing or that much-needed miracle—get busy. Live life, love God, and leave the care safely in His capable hands.

Dorothy