I am so Thankful!

I have much to be grateful for as I think about the upcoming day that leads me and others to think about what has happened in this past year—Thanksgiving Day.  I want to say a huge thank you—to God, to my family, to my church and to my friends. I have many, many blessings—too many to list. That I have recovered from my surgeries of the last couple years makes me so thankful. To those who helped me, I say Thank You. Included in my list of thank you’s is—God! Then there are the surgeons, nurses, the dreaded blood pressure takers, the physical therapists. my family who were so much help and always gave me encouragement and my friends! One friend faithfully sent me cards and I have a stack of cards nearly 2 inches high! So many blessings from so many people who demonstrated God to me with their love and care.

One of the things I was thankful for was the addition of a hospital bed to our dining room. Not the usual place for a bed but it was the best place to put it, and I  did not have to use steep narrow stairs that were so painful and the bathroom was not too far away. Best of all, I could keep track of things happening in our kitchen and on all of the first floor. I am so thankful that it was available. As I progressed, it became less used by me and more often used by our kitties! They enjoyed having it close to us and up off the floor. It was their choice for catnaps, a lookout place to see when there might be food served to them. They enjoyed it as protection from visiting dogs and Marco kitty knew he could eat in peace on the bed. And we obliged by placing the food bowl on the bed for him when visiting dogs were around. Miss Kitty loved having the bed to lay on. She used it for daytime sleeping and relaxing and for being cute when she wanted our attention. When she was in the mood and we were close by, she became our squirmy wormy kitty and wiggled and squirmed, rolled and stretched until she had covered every inch of the bed. Who could resist giving her some love and attention. She never left in disgust, I’ve had enough!!—she just wanted more and more and more attention! Loudly purring the whole time of getting attention!

The day came when we decided to reclaim our hospital bedroom back to our dining room! We wondered how our 2 kitties would like having to make new habits. Our fear was that they would not like change any more than we like changes. We get habits that are not easy to change. When God shows us what we need to change something in our lives, it can be very hard, and we tell God how much we don’t want to change. He says the change is necessary, best for our growth to become more like Him.  Miss Kitty had loved having the bed close to where we had breakfast at the dining room table. She would sit on the edge, near to where Garry was having his bowl of milk and cereal. She loves the milk and prefers milk with no cereal crumbs that have cinnamon flavor. She likes eggs and cheese and bits of burger. She was so patient waiting for her tidbits—most of the time! But when breakfast went on beyond what she thought was a reasonable amount of time, then she would reach out with one paw and gently touch Garry’s arm or shoulder or his leg. Sometimes she would stand on her back feet and place her front feet on the chair back and even Garry’s shoulders or place them on his leg and lap. She was always so gentle, hardly ever demanding. Just gentle touches of paw as gentle reminders, “I’m here, don’t forget about me! I love you but remember—I’m right here, waiting!” She is positive she needs her daily spoonful of milk to lap up.  God often gives us gentle reminders that He is always near, waiting for us to remember that He wants our love and our gifts. He reminds us of His love, and is often disappointed when we forget about Him.

We wondered how our kitties would deal with the changes to their lives since they had grown to appreciate having the bed to claim as theirs. To help Miss Kitty not have to go “cold turkey” missing the bed where she could be close to us, we gave her a cushy chair that we can pull over close to us. Turns out she can change! We gave her treats on the chair to help her want to change. Now she knows it is for her and if something gets laid on it, she lets us know that things aren’t right. How wonderful it would be if we wanted to be so close to God that we would realize how wrong our life is if we move away from Him.

It reminded me that God is close by, waiting for us to turn to Him and give Him some attention. He is there giving us gentle reminders that He is waiting for us to give Him some attention. He gently touches us to remind us to not forget about Him. And we are like Miss Kitty! She needs her milk! We need our daily taste of the milk of His Word.

Our kitties have the chance to be outdoor kitties whenever they want. Sometimes we forget whether they are in or out. If we open the door to step outside, and if they have been out too long—in their opinion—they come running. Perhaps they want to nap in safety without having to beware. But more likely they want food and do not want to miss out on the chance to come in to where the food bowls are (and hope the bowls won’t be empty!) Miss Kitty mostly moves kind of slow and doesn’t show much ambition. She is always the last one to do anything—unless she wants to be able to come in. Then you would be amazed at how fast she can run. It is funny to watch her as she runs more like a raccoon would, not like a normal cat. The fact that the kitties show us that they don’t want to miss out on the open door to safety and food and sleep, reminds me of the fact that someday our chance to get into heaven will end, the open door will close. The place that is being prepared for us of eternal rest, safe from all enemies, with never ending nourishing bounty, and with the chance for walking and talking with our Master! Jesus is preparing it for us, but we have to make sure we don’t miss out on the chance to enter in! 

Once the kitties are in the house, then they have their favorite places to sleep. They each have different preferences. And their preferences are preferred for sometimes a short time, sometimes for longer times. It could be a rug, or chair or under a bed or on a bed or up high in a closet or on top of a tall stack of procrastinated boxes of books and a pile of mending. I have been the landing place when it is time to leave/jump off those high places—I must admit it is rather startling! Marco sometimes startles us when he just wants to be loved. Sometimes God startles us when we are not expecting Him near. He too wants us to show our love for Him. This is a lesson for me! Don’t pass off the startles. They might be to get our attention!  Occasionally, I wake up and there will be a cat sleeping up against my leg on the right side between me and the edge of the bed. As I lay there kind of trapped, I become aware that there is another cat nearby on my left side! I’m really trapped. Perhaps I love my kitties too much but I kind of like having them there. However, now that I am awake, I discover the reason for waking! I need to get out of bed immediately! Someday, God will help those who are sleeping in death to wake up. They will have been trapped in their final resting place. But God takes them out of the trap and wakes them up and immediately gets them up to be ready to go with Him to a new home. 

This week I was startled awake, startled out of a deep sleep! I became aware that I was being kicked! It wasn’t a cat kicking me! And it wasn’t just one kick! Five well placed kicks on my shins. And the kicks were well aimed and with lots of force. I am not used to being kicked. In fact, I can’t remember ever being kicked that hard, even accidentally. Having a family of three brothers and four sons, you might think there would have been a kicking accident at some time, by someone. I finally both physically and verbally indicated the kicks during sleep should “STOP, don’t do that!” That woke Garry up enough that he stopped. Immediately! I asked him later what was happening in his dream that involved kicking? Apparently, he needed to stop a buffalo from goring him! He was kicking hard to get that buffalo to stop the ramming! I have never imagined that I was a buffalo. We have watched movement in cats and dogs while they are sleeping. Do they dream of chasing and catching their prey? It would be interesting to know. Maybe someday we will again be able to talk with the animals.

So, what can we learn from a dream? I truly think that God sometimes speaks to individuals in dreams—but perhaps not of a buffalo kicking dream! I love to read stories of how God comes to people to show them who He is and that He is coming soon. These people often are believers that messages come by dreams, or they have no other way of receiving the messages of truth. They are shown what they need for these last days. God has a way to reach people when no other way is possible. That thrills me and lets me know God still speaks today, just as He did ages back to those who He was directing and guiding.

Can you think of others? Oh yes, John had prophetic visions similar to Daniel.

I rarely dream or at least remember my dream. I think I am happy with no dreams, most of the time. Though it would be interesting to know I actually had a dream from God! Interesting, maybe a bit scary!

Thank You God for giving me signs every day that show you are guiding and directing and loving me