Trust is All We Need

Today’s reading: Psalm 91

I can learn a lot about God by paying attention to animals. My cat is a good example.

Often, on days when the weather is beautiful,  I open my back door and Astro comes barrelling from nowhere in the house and makes a dramatic escape. Its almost as if he lives for those opportunities to rush outside and frolick on the warm driveway pavement. When he has finally had his fill of rolling with delight, he then heads for the back yard to begin a round of sniffing and tasting at the delicious grass.

This is always a heart warming scene, one that would keep Astro content for hours, probably — if I ever allowed it to go on that long.

I always end up cutting it short. Usually after just a few seconds, depending on my rush and my mood.

I charge forth and scream at Astro, “Get your butt back in that house!” And sometimes I physically carry him back inside.

Knowing that my rude interruption of his outdoor adventure must be  a disappointment for Astro, I always feel a little guilt at this.

“But its for his own good,” I tell myself.

If I were to let him stay outside indefinitely, he would certainly wander over our fence eventually and get into a dangerous brawl with the neighbor’s dogs — and, of course, my neighborhood has a number of racoons and opossums that are infamous for causing trouble for unwary cats as well.

So, Astro is doomed to be an indoor cat.

Well, I say “doomed,” but, actually, he always surprises me.

When I chase (or drag) him back in to the house, I always expect some sort of protest: a howl, a whine or even a dirty look . I know that’s the reaction someone would get from me, if I had been rudely forced from an afternoon of fun.

But Astro never does any other that.

Rather, he usually begins purring within seconds of finding himself back inside his comfortable home.

Astro has innate confidence that he will always be taken care of, that someone is wisely looking out for his best interest. So he is not a complainer — even when he has every right to be.

No, he simply trusts. And purrs.

It turns out that this cute, playful ball of fur is a great model for me to follow in my own relationship with God. Whenever my desires for my life are derailed by, say, the weather or some other act of God, there is no need for me to fret or complain. All I must do is trust.

Today’s reading is a great reminder of that: “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God. In him will I trust.” (Verse 2)

Thanks be to God for His eternal protection. May I remember to always trust Him.