Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Colossians 3: 12-13
Susie and Delia, and most cats I know, are sensuous animals. They love the texture of things. They love being pet. They love surrounding themselves with soft, cuddly things. They never seem to want to get off the bed–at least when we’re trying to make it.
A simple daily exercise like making the bed becomes a cat-human tug of war. One or the other of them, wrapped in a sheet or blanket, won’t budge when the human in the house wants to re-arrange things. Susie is just plain defiant while Delia might hiss, but neither of them is any too happy. Like Michael, or myself, they cling to their creature-comforts. Truth is, there are some days, we don’t make them get up and my mother would likely judge us to have a very unkempt house. On other days, those two stubborn cats are forced out of bed “with attitude” only to find a couch or rug to curl upon.
They remind me what I should wrap myself in during my day–blankets of compassion, kindness, humility and gentleness and patience–instead of “attitude” and crawl out from under any grievances I find myself stuck under.
I look at my two cats and remember how easily it is some days to get stuck in bed under the covers with resentments and anger instead of curling myself contentedly on top.
The one thing I notice about all those sensuous cats–they delight in the joys and pleasures of living. They don’t get stuck under the covers. They are always enjoying the comfort of being on top–they’re always ready to discover life’s next gift whether a catnip mouse or a slender ray of sunshine that appears magically on the wood parquet floor.
My two cats don’t have time for grievances. They’re too busy wrapping themselves in kindness and gratitude.
Wrap Yourself In Kindness
