I believe that God speaks to us in a variety of ways, connecting to us on an individual basis, tuning into our own personal frequencies. Our challenge is to pay attention, to first tune into and then become part of the conversation. When this this all comes together, epiphanies result.
Saturday morning as Dave and I lazily sipped our coffee and tentatively mapped out our day with “What do you want to do today?” and the dreaded response, “I don’t care, what did you want to do?”, Izzie sat at the back door crying. She knew exactly what she wanted to do; she wanted to go outside.
Months ago, after Izzie’s emergency trip to the vet, we’d decided to keep her indoors for
her own safety and our peace of mind. At first she didn’t seem to mind so much, but over the past several weeks, Izzie has made it known that she has had a change of heart and wanted to rejoin the wild world of moles and mice in the back yard. Long episodes of pleading by the door and several unsuccessful excape attempts have caused us to rethink our decision.
We considered Izzie’s current quality of life. Yes, she’s safe, but she’s also become increasingly lazy and withdrawn. Worst of all, she’s been very irritable, growling every time she even catches sight of Purrl.
We tried to ease the situation by allowing Izzie supervised playtime in the back yard. We’d let her out while we were working on the gardens or just to sit in the sun. That worked fine, and Izzie came in when she was called. The problem was that she wanted to go out all the time.
So, after careful thought and consideration, weighing the quality of life issues against the safety issues, we decided to let Izzie be free to roam the yard unchaperoned during daylight hours. For the past few days our arrangement is working. Izzie still asks for our company when she goes out. Sometimes we go and when we can’t, we peak out the door or window, to get a bead on her. Even though we aren’t together, Dave and I are still looking after her, ready to help her in a time of need.
OK, so you may be wondering how a cat crying at the door has taught be about the power of persistent prayer. What was my epiphany? Here goes;
God only wants what is best for us. He loves us and cares for us, despite our best efforts to “run out the open door without supervision”. When we make requests, God doesn’t always give us quick answers. I see that like our consideration in letting Izzie roam free, God must consider the pros and cons of each request with a measure of just how much we yearn for our request. The duration of the requests doesn’t necessarily translate into a positive response, but it certainly reminds God that we are still asking.
Like Izzie, I’d like to know that God is out there with me when I’m out in the world, and because God is God, I know that is the truth. God doesn’t merely peak out the window to check on me.
Aside from The Prayer before supper and the occassional off the cuff conversation with God, regular thoughtful prayer hasn’t been a part of my daily life. It is a goal that I continue to attempt to attain. I think God just might have been tuning into me through Izzie’s pleas at the door, to remind me of the old acronym P.U.S.H. – Pray Until Something Happens. Izzie asked and she received, she “knocked” and the door was opened to her. I just need to follow her example.