August 28, 2020 (Friday)
Here’s a story from a blog published in October, 2008–12 years ago.
In the late fifties, we lived northwest of Fort Worth, in the community of Briar, near the north end of Eagle Mountain Lake. One winter we had a blizzard with ice, snow and high winds. Our cat was expecting kittens, and I could not find her. As I was donning my heavy clothes, Wanda asked why. “I’m going to find our cat. She will die out there.” Wanda’s experience with cats led her to laugh and say, “That cat will be all right. She knows how to take care of herself.” But I went out into the terrible weather and searched over an hour until I found her, warm as toast, nursing her litter, very comfortable in a tiny “cave” in the north side of a big ditch, partially hidden by leaves and twigs she had somehow managed to use as a cover for the “cave.” When I found her, she looked up at me as if to say, “What in the world are you doing out here in this blizzard?” Ain’t nature grand? God cares for all creatures great and small.
That experience came to mind as I listened to the song, “He Whispers Sweet Peace to Me.” And it brought to mind the Bible verses, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1-3 NIV).
God cares for the creatures of the natural world, and He also cares for us, His children by faith. I may wander all through the Bible, but I keep coming back to these verses: “..in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 KJV).
When life hands you trouble and heartache, think about that cat, nestled in her safe and warm place, purring in peace, and remember that God has a comforting place for you beneath His sheltering arms. “Be not dismayed, whate’er betide, God will take care of you.”