Lost or Hiding?

How often do animals and children give us great practical examples of the Lords love for us? Luke 15:4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? I had one of those lessons last night. I came home from work and because it was almost time to feed the cats I realized that I hadn’t seen one of them. I run though the house looking under the beds, in the closets, under and around the furniture, through the garage and even in the cupboards thinking she may have gotten in one and the door was shut on her by mistake. No Poppy. I then find out that she might have had an opportunity to get out side when a couple of Girl Scouts came to the door to collect canned goods. Being outside wouldn’t be too bad for a normal cat, but this cat has never been outside out side of a cat carrier, she was purchased from a pet store and when she was given to us she didn’t know how to clean herself. Our other cat has taught her what it is to be a cat so if she was outside she would be coyote bait for sure.

For the next three hours I alternate from re-looking under beds and around the house; to walking up and down the street calling her name and shaking her food jug (this usually brings her running); to sitting on the couch praying for her safety and the Lord’s wisdom on where she might be. Finally at 11pm I just go to bed.

At 3am Kyle’s alarm goes off and I get up and go to the door again and call for Poppy. I go back up to the bedroom and wait to pray with Kyle before he leaves (something we do every day) and then I hear this faint cry. Could it be? I stand still for a moment and I hear it again, it is coming from the closet in our bedroom. I run in there and turn on the light and there coming out from behind some boxes is Poppy. She had been in our room probably in the closet the whole night. I’m not sure why she didn’t come out, usually when she gets in our room (it is a hair free zone and the cats aren’t allowed there) she crawls in bed with us during the night and then gets thrown out. All I can figure is that she knows she wasn’t suppose to be in there and was afraid to come out.

We are just like that cat at the times when we do something we know is wrong and then instead of just going to the Lord who is calling for us and wanting to love us and who is concerned for our safety we try and hide from Him just like Adam and Eve did in the garden. We will hide in a place where we miss out on the blessing and comfort and ultimately the Lord just wants to bless us.