The Right Path

I’ve never had a child, but I am currently in the process of raising a very rambunctious kitten and that’s basically the same, right? (Cue all the moms everywhere screaming “NO!”) Regardless, this kitten and I… well, we don’t always see things eye-to-eye.

For example: The other morning, I was trying to do my quiet time with a nice cup of coffee and a pop tart (healthy, I know). My cat, Milo, decided that he desperately needed my pop tart. He needed to eat it right then and there. And so there I was, pushing this fluff with razor blades attached to his feet off of me while I shoved my pop tart in my mouth, my Bible falling onto the couch. I finally got exasperated and looked at Milo and yelled “WHY! This pop tart will surely make you sick! You don’t actually want this!”

And in that moment, something just clicked in my head. It was almost as if God kind of laughed in a “sounds familiar” way. How many times have I chased something so fervently in this life, only to have it let me down? Only to have it not meet my high expectations? Only to have it hurt me?

Yet, often times when I read through the Old Testament, I catch myself thinking about how strict all these rules are. How there are so many of them. Why would God tell me I can’t have something if it seems like it would be good? Like… I don’t know, maybe a pop tart?

Maybe it’s because He sees the bigger picture, and He’s seen it all along. He knows that the paths He tells us to stay off of will lead us to ruin. He tells us no because He cares for us, as a cat mom cares for her little kitten who seems to have a wish for diarrhea.

Let’s remember that the ones who love us tell us difficult things to keep us safe, and who loves us more than our Creator who knew us from inside of our mother’s wombs?