The last couple of weeks we have been taking care of orphaned kittens we discovered under our shed. This is one of the most difficult things we have ever undertaken with animals. Domestic cats are very close to their wild cousins, so bottle feeding and care is very difficult when no feline mother is present. We were told that the mortality rate is high for litters like this, but it still stung as we lost two of the kittens within the first few days we were caring for them. But there are moments that have been incredibly rewarding as well. Like any creatures we engage with, there are ideas that come to mind as we’ve been caring.
We truly want the kittens to flourish. When they struggle to take a bottle or get cold, we feel pain ourselves and do everything we can. When the kittens began to latch onto the bottle, we felt joy and relief. When the feeding frequency went from every two to every three hours, we felt we could breathe. But still, we know that these creatures may not flourish. Yet, we desire that flourishing and we work to do everything possible to help them flourish. Their response to our efforts is to see us as family and trust us to care for them.
In fact, I find myself reacting with love toward tiny creatures that cannot survive without our efforts. When the kittens do things that could harm themselves, i don’t get angry or wish them pain. Instead, I work with them to get them through the harm. It is not their fault that they ended up orphaned. In fact, we have no idea what happened to their mother as we did not know they were under the shed until she was gone. They were born as kittens and that carries needs that require cooperation from another creature.
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One late night while feeding the kittens, one made its first eye contact and just stared at me as it reached for my chin. I looked into those eyes and it dawned on me that the cat experienced us as good and a source of comfort and nourishment. It had made a shift from just a routine to connecting with us as a trusted source. I started thinking about the way we may see God or even portray God. Contrary to the way the kittens took time to recognize our care, we never wavered in our concern and care for the kittens. We never changed the way we saw the kittens, but they made a change in how they see us.
There are view of God that portray a distance diety who does not like us. These views often lean into the idea that God could never see us through sin. But that’s not the God of scripture. The God of scripture is a God who is present and working in creation. Rather than a god who despises, scripture reveals a God who loves and cares for all creation. This is partially due to a view of sin that makes sin into a thing we have that is a part of us. But sin is that which harms by breaking relationships. Rather than a thing we have, sin is something which afflicts us like an illness needing healing. But we cannot always see that truth. Instead we need to have an aha moment where we shift our view and are able to recognize that God has been with us the entire time. We shift how we see God, but God never changes how God sees us.
If a human being can have care and concern for orphaned kittens, how much more can God have love for humanity? God is not waiting to punish us for sin, especially “original” sin. Rather, God loves us and is wooing us to recognize that love such that we can see who God truly is. May you know the love of God as a creature who is valued and welcomed.
Beautiful example of our Father’s love!!!