When I found them, they were behind bars, eying me with a certain feline wariness. Four-month-old twin brothers, abandoned in a parking lot, they desperately needed a good home.
I fell in love with them immediately and couldn’t wait to set them free. Named for two biblical heroes — the bigger one is Boaz, the smaller one, Samson — they explored our house, one room at a time, until they found a sofa they liked and settled down.
Welcome to a cat’s idea of heaven.
They were inseparable at first, like some strange creature with two heads and five legs. Uni-cat. They ate side by side, slept in a furry pile, and bathed each other with unbridled affection.
Before long, their very different personalities began to emerge.
Boaz is quieter, less animated. He’s content to simply be in the same room with me and seldom demands my attention.
Eating and sleeping are his favorite activities. Chase the little red laser dot? Too much trouble. Bat at the cotton fish dangling from a pole? Not today. Curl up like a striped tea cozy? Yes, please.
Samson, on the other hand, constantly seeks me out.
He rubs against my legs. Jumps onto my lap.
Strokes my hand with his paw. Parks himself by my computer.
Implores me with his gray-green eyes.
Feed me. Pet me. Hold me.
Scratch under my chin.
See how much I love you?
Purrrrrr.
Samson isn’t hesitant to ask for what he needs, whenever he needs it. None of this business of waiting until he catches my eye. He leaps into my arms without warning and makes himself right at home.
Z-z-z-z-z.
Please understand, I cherish them both and care for them equally. They are fed the same amount of food in matching bowls, their litter boxes are both kept tidy, and wherever I sit, I make sure there’s room for them on either side of me.
After all, I have two hands. I can pet them both at once.
Yet, this is what they’ve taught me, these two gray tabbies with their silky coats and crazy long tails: when we seek our Master’s company, we experience His love more fully. Not because He loves us more, but because we’ve spent more time in His presence.
The Bible assures us, “The Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones” (Psalm 37:28). His mercy, His grace, are offered freely and equally to all who call him Lord.
But if we’re unwilling to admit our neediness, we’ll never know the extravagant love of God in the same way as our brothers and sisters who throw themselves at Him by the hour.
Those wise souls? They pray, they plead, they praise, they even purr — the Lizzie Revised Version of “worship the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2). Gladness isn’t formal. It’s joyful. Enthusiastic.
True worship isn’t going through the motions. It’s going to the throne. Seeking an audience with our King. Showing Him how much we love, trust, and adore Him. Receiving all He has for us — not because we are good, but because He is good and kind and generous.
How might you spend time in His presence today?
Lord, Your Word makes it clear that You love us. Show us how we can best love You. Teach us the true meaning of worship. Help us experience Your presence. Give us the strength to admit we’re weak. Set us free from our cages, so we can leap into Your arms and know we’re home.
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Oh Liz, just this..”when we seek our Master’s company, we experience His love more fully. Not because He loves us more, but because we’ve spent more time in His presence.” Heart with you longing to throw myself at Him by the hour–playing, pleading, praising, and purring–that I may deeply come to know by experience this deep deep extravagant love of His toward me. One of my favorite Ann quotes is that we can always have as much Jesus as we want, and that idea along with this cat lesson will be marinating with me for a long while. Thank you so much for using this gift of writing and lessons you’re learning to share with us and to lift us all toward Him. It is a beautiful thing and I am deeply thankful for you. xoxo
Such kind words of encouragement, Jacque. Blessings on your desire to go deeper with God.
AMEN. May God open our eyes to see how needy we are without him.
God Bless Liz say hi to “Samson and Boaz”. Thanks for sharing your amazing story.
http://purposefulandmeaningful.blogspot.com/
Hi back from the boys!
Liz,
How true that we can learn so many lessons about our Maker through our four legged friends. I don’t have Uni-cat (love this) but I have two dogs – a beagle and a black lab mix. My life, admittedly, has not been exactly easy and like my beagle who continually seeks me out to get as close to me as he can, I have equally and often desperately sought my Lord. What I have found is, as you said, the extravagant love of the Lord. No matter how many times I throw myself at His feet, I never run out of Jesus. His fount of blessings never stops flowing and as many times as I draw near, He will pour out His love and blessings upon me. I can honestly say that I am thankful for my trials (maybe not when I’m in the thick of them) because they have built in me a deep reliance and dependence on my Savior. When we are weak, then He is strong. Thank you for this beautiful story of what can happen when we draw near to the throne! I needed this, this morning 🙂
Blessings,
Bev
Love this, Bev: “I never run out of Jesus.” So comforting.
As a fellow cat Mother and lover I understand FULLY how you feel. I adore my ‘child’ and my children are well and truly jealous of the attention I show her! However like you I have looked into how she manifests the love of Our Creator. She lets me feel that warm, fuzzy feeling I am sure God has for us, his children with our different personalities, by being HERSELF- the way we all are created. I show her love and care regardless of how she wants to be with me. I know she can show her snobbish, independent side, but because of how I treat HER, she will always place herself where I am.
That is how Our Father is to us so we should place ourselves wherever HE is, which is EVERYWHERE. Respect too ALL cats and families. Blessed love
Hmm. I get that about the jealousy thing. ;>) Thanks for sharing, Hasina!
Love this analogy!
I will be pleading with God over a grandchild who needs a head injury healing…
Yes. I’m needy every day, but more so today…
Joining you in prayer right now, Marina.
Yes, this, “Set us free from our cages, so we can leap into Your arms and know we’re home.” Thank you for this reminder to worship Him today Liz. Sometimes we get so bogged down by our needs and the needs of others that we forget that worship is something we need. He delights in us. I want to have a worshipful spirit today!:)
So right, Katie. We DO need worship. God uses it to calm us and teach us and refocus us and draw us closer. He is worthy of our praise. And we need those healing moments in His throne room.
What a fun analogy! Cats and kids can teach us so much about the love Our Father has for us. Now you’re making me want a cat — or two.
Take the leap, Jenni! lol
The simplicity in this message is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing – I was greatly blessed by it.
I definitely like to keep things simple, Karen. So grateful it blessed you!
We have a cat here at our house. And he loves to be around humans. He will be asleep in the dog kennel and I will get up to go someplace and he wakes up and follows me. He is something else again. He came on my birthday and we found out that he was a male instead of the other way around.
He is such a joy to watch. He is into everything and them some.
Hugs,
Becky Jones
Yup. Cats. Utterly unpredictable. Kinda.
I absolutely loved reading about your cats and it really put a smile on this grieving heart looking at their pictures. Just a reminder of how much we need to rely on Jesus who is ALWAYS there waiting to feed us with his word and his unconditional love. Thank You so much for sharing Boaz & Samson with us. Such adorable kitties.
I am very sorry you are grieving, Paulette. Glad the kitties brought a smile to your face this morning.
“…when we seek our Master’s company, we experience His love more fully. Not because He loves us more, but because we’ve spent more time in His presence.”
If we ever needed a justification for regular devotions or “quiet times”, then this is it! Spending time in His presence day by day in the Word, seeing our need for Him, we experience more of Mary (of the Mary and Martha fame) in our desire to worship as our affection swells and our hearts are filled with His daily manna.
Thank you, Liz!
Lita aka MomtoJADE
Oh, yes! I’m working on a book about Mary of Bethany. She’s a beautiful example of a woman who sought Her Lord’s presence above all things. May we follow in her footsteps!
I’m a cat person in a house full of cat allergies. So I have to admire others’ cats from afar. That’s why your title and picture quickly got my full attention. And I’m so glad it did. My word for this year is “to know.” (yeah, I know it’s two words.) In reading your post, I realized that there’s no better way to know God then to make myself known to Him. To be Mary sitting at His feet rather than Martha scurrying about with good things that take away from that intimate time with the Father. Thanks so much for this sweet visual of what can be if I would seek Him more.
I like your two words for 2015, Lisa. Mary definitely wanted “TO KNOW” the Lord!
Liz. Oh my word. I want to be your neighbor. You are positively delightful.
You are welcome to sit at my kitchen table anytime, sweet Jennifer!
What a magnificent illustration the Lord has given you! A beautiful picture of God’s love for us and example of why we need to show Him our love and stay in His presence! Thank you for sharing!
So kind, Vicki. Blessings to you in 2015.
Liz, this is so serendipitous, because last night at church in a class on worship, our pastor said the very same thing you are (well, in a different, pastorly way!), but he conveyed this concept, which you expressed (but without cat models): Worship is “Showing Him how much we love, trust, and adore Him. Receiving all He has for us — not because we are good, but because He is good and kind and generous.” How often have I heard something like this: You need to go to church because worship isn’t about you, it’s about God–it’s not about what you can get out of it or what He can do for you, but completely about focusing on Him–praising and adoring Him–period. Our pastor said that that is only part true. Worship is also about receiving from God. He said the basis of worsihp is not only praise and adoration (or evangelism and edification, as some churches teach), but about covenant–or better yet, he said it’s about covenant renewal. God is in a covenat RELATIONSHIP with His people. Worship is about that relationship. We both participate. We both experience–God and we. And isn’t it just like the Lord to bless us with such warm, tangible reminders of His love as your furry feline friends. i also recall how one of my favorite authors, Ken Gire, shared w/ a cat example in one of his books about a wilderness time when he felt alienated from God. He couldn’t understand where God was or what He was doing in his life. He felt so distanced from Him. And then one day, he found a stray cat and eventually brought the scared and starving little thing into his home, continually trying to feed him. And the cat kept hissing and clawing and putting up a fight, when all Ken wanted to do was draw him close enough to love and feed him. But the cat thought Ken was the enemy. Suddenly, Ken realized that he was the cat. All God wanted to do was to draw Ken to Himself in nuturing relationship. Ah….another cat life lesson. And my life? Unfortunately, whenever I’ve had cats, though I love them, they don’t love me and have been mean-spirited. I do have a loving Standard poodle who follows me wherever I go, including to the bathroom. But I think it will be best to stop here and draw no God-lessons from that. I LOVED this post. It fills me with the desire to worship God in a covenantal way–where I both praise Him and receive from Him. Thank you so much for sharing, and Happy New Year!
Love
Lynn
Your pastor is spot on. Covenant relationship is exactly what God had in mind. “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” Genesis 17:7 Breathtaking, isn’t it? Appreciate your heart for God, Lynn!
Tha’ts it, Liz! Breathtaking!
Liz, may I also just say, one thing I love when you write here (besides your wonderful insights and writing), is how you acknowledge each person. That’s very, very special!
Thanks, Lynn!
Better is one day in His courts than a thousand elsewhere. Yes and amen to your fun, cute, and amazing God-given insights about worship. Liz, I hope you gave your cats an extra treat for this one! = )
Sure did. Just bought them some Fancy Feast Broth (with a coupon, of course).
First of all, I love your new furry friends! Isn’t it just like God to reveal His truths by way of His creations? I happen to be one of those weirdo’s that believe our beloved pets go to heaven when they leave this world.xo
Always a joy to hear from you, Susan!
I had some disturbing news yesterday and found myself reaching our to our Father for the plans He has in mind for my friends and myself. Most of my life I have been like Boaz: keep to myself, not very needy. I have “taken care of business” with little help from others. Now that I am older, I seem to be more needy and reach out for support from my friends and I let my needs be known rather than coping by myself. I have more friends now than in my earlier years and I thank God for them and their support since it seems I need their help more.
Cats (and dogs) know when you are worried, upset, or not feeling well and they are quick to comfort you with their love. My grandson teased my cat and Tigger would hide but when my grandson was upset, nearly in tears, Tigger went to him, rubbing and pawing to comfort him: forgiveness. God has blessed us with our fur babies.
Totally get “taking care of business” on your own, Pat. Admitting we need help is SO hard. Yet God is faithful, and amazingly patient. When we’re ready, He is more than ready.
I really enjoyed reading your post. We have three cats, and yes, all different personalities! We love them! To sit beside the Father. Such a simple and easy thing to do, and yet we put it off?! At least I do. Thanks for the sweet reminder! Blessings, Diane
The simplest things really are the hardest sometimes. Sitting still. Listening. Waiting. All hard. But in God’s presence? Wonderful. And so worth it.
Hi, Liz! Thanks so much for this post. Boaz & Samson are two little sweeties, that’s for sure! Ever since my Dublin came into my life, that ginger boy has been used by God to bless me incredibly. Not just to help me emerge from a depression, which I was coming out of at the time, but God’s also used Dublin to comfort me & to help me focus on someone other than myself. I’m a single woman who’s never been blessed with children, & so I’ve often focused on myself because that’s been the easiest thing. Dublin, though, has been used greatly to help me rediscover my nurturing side & to learn to love another being again. Also, Dublin’s also shown me more about worship. He’s like your Boaz in some ways – he’s very calm & not the most needy cat in the world – but he’s also like your Samson – he craves my attention & loves to be around me, seeking my lap when at all possible. He makes it very clear when he wants to spend time with me, & I find it very hard to ignore this.
It’s never a waste of time to be with out furbabies, is it? Nor is it ever a waste of time for us to seek God’s attention – He’s always willing & waiting for us to spend time with us. When we seek Him, He’s always available for us to “curl up into His lap,” so to speak, & He always gives us His undivided attention.
Thanks again for this post! I enjoyed it so much, & I love all the comments that’ve been posted here as well so far. 🙂
So glad you added your experience to the mix, Michelle. Your Dublin is blessed to have you as his human!
Liz, I first want to thank you for this because I so completely “get it”. Beautifully written.
Now I have to share with you that I too have a friend, Kitty Biscuit who could be the triplet to your twins. But the funniest thing is, he was a little hungry street cat, who had obviously been fighting and struggling for every meal, with no concept of love.
He was grateful for the food we put out for him, but because he had never experienced the peace, warmth and comfort of being loved, he was at first satisfied to come and eat but then stood at the door ready to leave immediately.
I however was immediately in love and as time would have it he began to warm up. Now a year later, he sleeps at my feet every night, wakes me up with a sweet touch every morning, and pretty much rules this home (dogs and all).
One day I got to thinking about how much I had learned as I watched him learning to accept love. How it had changed him, calmed him and crested a playful friend where there once was a very skidding street cat.
He brings gs me so much joy that I decided one day to put in words a realization I had come to of how God’s love changes us, when we accept it, crave it and nurture it.
Well as you see, I can get long winded, and I put this much longer version on fb, afterwords thinking, “Everyone is going to think I have totally lost it, comparing this to God’s love”.
But today once again, reading what you have written me has taught me, God is in everything if you are willing to see him there, and can use anything to teach and grow us.
I have said all this to say, it’s good to know I have a sister out there who loves God and can find him everywhere, and can share his love through the most simple moments of our lives.
Thank you Liz for all that I have learned from you in the past, today and what I will learn in the future.
God Bless Your Ministry and your passion for our Savior and for the time you spend sharing that message with women.
Love everything you’ve shared with us, Tebby. What fun to know we’re rolling down the same track!
What a great picture of going to the Lord to worship and to be with Him!
Thanks, Martha. I’m all about visuals, because they stick longer! :>)
Liz, I loved this. And I needed the reminder to throw myself at Jesus’ feet. With some unexpected happenings this morning, my heart and my schedule got thrown into a tail spin….and I didn’t handle it well. 🙂 I’ve since spent some time with Jesus, but I need to seek Him out through the rest of this as it takes a different direction than I thought it would. 🙂
I love the way you described your kitties….and your two hands. 🙂
When things spin a different direction than I expected, I remind myself that, from God’s viewpoint, it was the perfect direction. We may not know WHY, WHEN, or HOW, but we know WHO, which is enough for us to hang on to. Praying for you, Jeanne.
Liz, I am such a cat person. But never in my wildest dreams did I think I would learn about worship from a cat! Yes, when we seek His company, we experience Him more fully! Seeking Him minute by minute today! Thank you!
Minute by minute is a great plan, Ellen.
Loved this. God will show us His ‘teachable moments’ right where we live! What a great truth, “TRUE WORSHIP isn’t going through the motions. It’s going to the throne.”
Thanks for the ‘smile’ this morning.
Bless you Liz!
Thanks for making time to be “teachable” today, Susan!
Oh, Liz – brilliant – how very moving. I’m speechless.
Sigh. I’m afraid that never happens to me. lol
THANKS, Babs!
I was quite intrigued by the title, because I was having a hard time piecing that one together. However, I absolutely love your analogy. It really is about seeking an audience with Him, spending time in His presence, adoring and loving Him. I love this!!! Thanks for sharing.
Yeah, I was kinda worried about that title, Dianne. I never want to approach God in a frivolous or off-handed manner. Since this is one of the ways He’s been teaching me this winter, I figured I’d take a chance and share it. Glad it worked for you!
I must be honest… I am not a cat person…so I almost did not even give this a read… But because I enjoy your writing and perspectives…. I thought I would give it a shot…and like always… I am glad when I read your words… I just love how you painted such a amazing picture of us through cats… Oh how He loves us all… But it’s us who dictates the relationship… Pursing His presence… Just to be near Him…not just for food and covering…put just the pure pleasure of His presence… I think will will now just go curl up and let Him love me!!!! Thanks Liz
Grateful you gave it a chance, Ro. You certainly captured what I was trying to say. Your plan to “curl up and let Him love you” sounds perfect.
Wow…your words so beautifully illustrated…Thanks so much for sharing…I was truly Blessed!
TY, Teri!
I, too, sat up and took notice at this sentence: “when we seek our Master’s company, we experience His love more fully. Not because He loves us more, but because we’ve spent more time in His presence.” Thank you, Liz, for this encouragement to seek Him out, curl up in His presence, and revel in His love. Thank you for the inspiration to purr-ray (pray!) our love, adoration, and trust back to Him, just like your Samson!
So, here’s the truth. That second sentence wasn’t in my initial draft. When I woke the next morning, I went back to read the post and realized what was missing. Better put, God showed me what was missing! Isn’t He Love defined, to care about every word we read and hear and speak?
Oh, this was wonderful for me this morning – as I sit retyping every other word because of “Puppy-cat” (as always) curled in the crook of my arm – while Athena lazes across the room in patent “ignore” mode! Btw: When I was a kid I named my cat Sampson … well, first it was “Delilah”, but my parents recognized a “learning opportunity” and after my “education” HE was clearly a Sampson. 😉 I love what I’ll now call – the Seeking Principle – and now you’ve given me a lovely tool in your relatable (to me) message – a constant reminder to be more deliberate in my seeking out of my Master. Thank you … God Bless you.
Ah, Liz, what delight you gave me this morning with this post–and the subsequent comments! Made me want to have “face time” with you and the all the ladies, including two dear friends of mine, Lynn Morrissey and Cheryl Ricker. 🙂
If I didn’t have friends with cat allergies, I’d be tempted to go to the animal shelter today! I had some great cats growing up, and I loved your beautiful analogy. My life was turned upside down in 2000, but God used that time to draw me to himself like never before. I was desperate for him, and I discovered that in his presence was, truly, “fullness of joy.” Psalm 16:11 (I never dreamed then that 13 years later the Lord would end up transforming my prayer journals into a daily devotional book–only God!)
I concur with Lynn, in that I so appreciate how you respond to readers. I’m amazed you take that time to do that–bless you! And, I was thrilled to learn you are writing a new book on Mary of Bethany. Can’t wait to read it! Btw, are you familiar with Frances Ridley Havergal, the English poet and hymn writer? She is one of my “mentors from the past.” I enjoyed the “memorial book” her sister compiled after Frances died at the age of 43. She wrote “Like a River Glorious” and “Take My Life and Let It Be.” I think she could be considered to be the Mary of Bethany for England in the 1800s.
Thanks again for this wonderful post. “When we seek our Master’s company, we experience His love more fully. Not because He loves us more, but because we’ve spent more time in His presence.” So, so true! It has become my passion to convey the pure joy of spending time with Jesus. Bless you, dear Liz, for doing just that with your encouraging and uplifting words.
Georgia, my cat, is Miss Independent. She doesn’t think she needs anyone, until we’ve been gone for long periods of time. Suddenly, she can’t leave us alone. I see your analogy. I love it. Great post.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I just recently became a cat person so your title drew me in! And I LOVE this post. Our kitty is like Samson. At the computer, in our laps, rubbing our legs. And the way you connected this demand for attention and affection is just how I want to be with my Savior!!! Such a great visual. Thank you, Liz!
Wow – such good thoughts, here! And so true. I often find that we ask ourselves why it seems someone has a closer relationship with God than we do because we know he’s just and loves us all equally… but then we aren’t going to him ourselves like we could be. In ANY relationship, you have to pursue the person to have a deeper connection with them. Why do we try to act like it’s any different with God? Such a great metaphor. Thank you!
Liz-while you have 2 cats-I used to have 2 iguanas. There were seasons when they wanted my attention. They would follow me everywhere seeking out mama (a female). Now I just have the small one (Tiny) and he wants mama to hold him & snuggle with him all the time. Kinda cute!
Loved the analogy about cats and wanting attention and how we should seek God’s attention daily.
How do I spend time with God daily? By daily reading/listening to the Bible. listening to a lot of Christian music in my car and at work. I use the music to stir myself to Him. Hubby and I pray before meals, and at bedtime. One unique thing I do is when taking a shower I make it as dark as possible with a little light or candle & spend that time in deep prayer for people. We also watch two TV preachers weekly. I want us to have as much God as we can. He has so many blessing He wants to bestow on us and lessons we need to learn.
Blessings 🙂
What a beautiful picture you’ve painted here with your words, thank you. We have three refugee cats in our home and I completely get this comparison!
Blessings,
Suzanne
Such wisdom! I never learned that from my pets. It’s true that the child who comes looking for attention, gets more attention. Sometimes even the one who gets into the most trouble, gets the most attention. But then the trouble maker, probably needs more attention, with correction and reassurance. You’ve got me thinking, Liz!