The following comes from a blog published on August 6, 2018

Celia, the cat, lives at my home. Daily, she honors us with her presence. When I’m feeling particularly silly, I will address her with a deep bow saying, “your Majesty!” I’m not sure if she likes this or not. In fact, I'm not sure anyone in my house does. However, it helps me stay positive in my interactions with this willful creature. (Full disclosure- I’m more of a dog person.)

Celia likes to go outside. That said, if you open the door to let her out, she will disregard your efforts. Instead of holding the door for “your Majesty,” we have to open the door, look the other way, and let her ‘sneak out.’ Oh, the games that we play with our pets! It is a similar process for letting her in. She will be sitting outside the back door waiting for you to open the door. Should you encourage her to come in, Celia will move in a deliberate feline manner and walk away. Celia is about scooting in and out on her terms. Period. That is the way that she plays her game of life.

This morning, I’m thinking about how similar I am to Celia, the cat. I, too, want to play this game of life on my terms. I want to go outside when I want to go out. I, also, can be stubborn when others want me to do something that I don’t want to do. Who doesn’t like to be in control?

I think it is part of our creaturely wiring (unless we are a dog) to want to set the course and flow of our days. We even live in a culture that encourages individuality and self-expression. Be what you can be. Make this day the best that you can make it. Etc.

Unfortunately, these attitudes, as comfortable and ‘right’ as they might seem, can get in the way of our spiritual practices and life. The goal of spirituality is to connect with the One who made us and all living things. Though we like to form the Creator in our own image, such efforts are folly. God stands apart from us and is Holy Other. With God, there is a mystery that we won’t ever be able to solve or explain away.

We need to be humble if we genuinely want to tend to the relationship that God established with us from the time of our birth and before. Hard as it might be, we need to set our agendas, plans, plots, schemes, desires, and self-determined needs aside. Instead of trying to sneak through the door or refuse to enter when there is an opening, we have to stop all machinations. Breathe. Empty. Be open. Breathe.

The connection comes not by our efforts or control. The link comes as a gift from a Loving God, who deeply desires to connect with creation. According to God’s Word, God yearns to be in a deeper relationship with you and me and everything else. Creator loves creation. That is the whole point behind the Incarnation. God comes down to the earth to connect with its people, with us. In the life of Jesus, we see the kind of humility that we ought to imitate.

Perhaps I need to be taking lessons from Jesus’ life and not my cat!

Hope this note finds you well at the start of another week.
In Christ’s Light,
Walt