Luther Has No Pride
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2 (NIV)
Cats are most unusual creatures. Having 3 now is keeping us busy. The toughest part is to provide the loving when they want it. It matters not what we are doing, or how we rush to get out the door. When they want to be petted and cuddled, we need to comply…in their cat brains. They seem to rule our roost and act like we are their servants but we know differently. Right? Devon O’Day (All God’s Creatures) has a message of humility for us. Luther, the stray cat taught him.
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A new cat showed up one night when I was outside feeding the barn cats. One ear was almost gone, and his head was swollen from years of fighting. I was sure he had some sort of untreated injury going on because his walk was stiff and sore.
My name for him was Luther. I don’t know why, but he seemed like a Luther. He had wisdom from years on the streets fighting off so many dangers we could never know their full extent. He was hungry, and he must have shown up at my house because it seemed like a place where he could find safety and food.
Luther didn’t demand attention. He didn’t ask for much. He didn’t jockey for position with the other cats, who were quite territorial. Luther simply waited. He was hungry. That was all. He didn’t have to be king. He has shown up in the darkness and disappeared the same way for almost a year now. He seems content to spend his elder years in a place where he has nothing to prove.
Have you ever reached a point where you have nothing to prove anymore? Where what matters is not what rung of the ladder you are on but that you have a ladder? There is peace in falling into the trust of provision without the fight. When there is a race, it is often the real win of finishing that brings the most satisfaction.
Luther came to me at a time in my life and career when I felt I deserved more than I was getting. More recognition. More money. More. More. More. And in our nightly feedings, this old survivor taught me that just living to this point and finding a good place to be fed and safe—that was the real prize.
God, let me realize when to stop fighting and to start enjoying all the goodness You have given me. AMEN.