Finding My Cat

Ok, so I don't really have a cat. Technically. But there's this wonderful little white kitty I used to see all the time on my way to work. She was always to excited to see me, too! I'd pet her and play with her, etc. I even bought her cat treats that I kept in my purse for such an occasion. I wasn't sure if she belonged to someone, but I named her Gwenevere. But in the last couple of months, she had been nowhere to be found. I would look for her, make kissing noises to call her, all sorts of things. No sign. I got nervous after awhile, thinking she'd met the same fate as many cats in that neighborhood, having possibly been hit by a car. I was so bummed. But yesterday I looked up, and guess who was crossing the street?! It was she, with her cute little white furry self! I was so excited! I went and called her to myself, and there was much petting and cuddling bliss :) I saw a little girl a few feet away rounding up another cat. "Is this your cat?" I asked her. She shook her head "yes." I asked if it was a she or he and what its name was. "It's a she. Her name is Lulu." So cute :) Then I was thinking of it last night. I love when God draws analogies for me. rI thought of how in the Bible, Jesus tells us a few stories about how unbelievably excited He gets when His children who are lost get found! We've all been lost at some point. Whether we have grown up hearing lies about how God doesn't love us, or we have seen bad examples at home and assumed God doesn't love us, or maybe we have just made choices that set us on dangerous paths, we've become lost. Sometimes we are "religious" and still don't know God, because we think we have to do enough to please Him. Really, we don't have to do anything. He just wants us to come to Him and let Him love us! Anyway, here's one of the stories He tells about how He feels about lost ones: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." I love this! He knew that lost sheep was in danger and probably really scared. But His tender heart is for those who are needy. Isn't that the opposite of what the world tells us? They say the people we should spend time on are the ones who help themselves. God says He's really into the ones who can't. I often used to feel like God was disappointed in me when I messed up. He's sad, but not like that. He's sad because He loves me and doesn't want me to get hurt or to be away from Him. He knows He can keep me safe, which is why He wants me to come to Him. He's not waiting to punish or getting angry. I'm on His mind and His arms are open. But He doesn't force, because love is when 2 people make a choice to trust each other. Imagine, ladies, if a man decided he wanted to marry you, so he came in the middle of the night, kidnapped you, and took you home. Creepy, right? Wouldn't a good man ask you first? God asks. When a relationship isn't your choice, you won't the reap benefits from it. And when we say yes to God, He loves us to wholeness and walks with us, and we with Him, throughout life so we can do it all together! Melt, melt, melt...