When my no. 2 left home-base for awhile to join her fiance in America, I took over the day feeding for the 2 cats. Maffin keeps meowing outside my room door at odd times in the night, meaning he wants food, water or pats. I usually ignore him, as much as I can, because I don't want to be at the beck-n-call of a....cat. I am supposed to be the boss in the house, not the other way round. Pretzel doesn't meow as much, thank goodness, coz his voice is gratingly high-pitch. He has this cute habit of swiping 1 paw under my room door for me to play catch. By the time dawn breaks, and I open my door, both cats are hungry and would stomp downstairs to wait for me to fill their bowls. In his old age Maffin has given up fighting for food. It's greedy Pretzel instead who gobbles up his portion in double-quick time and then puts his face into Maffin's bowl for seconds, without so much as a "please, may I have yours, since you are so slow?" Of course Pretzel is also the one who occasionally throws up his food since he doesn't care about chewing 70 times.
I wouldn't say they are friends. Pretzel is always picking a fight with Maffin at least once a day. I think Maffin tolerates Pretzel a lot, letting him practically steal his food under his nose and provoking him when all Maffin wants to do is lie down and sleep. That's as much peaceful co-existence as it can get in the house with them. Maybe the fact that Pretzel is about half Maffin's age accounts for his feistiness.
One fine day Pretzel just walked out and didn't come home. It beats me why he would want to give up such a good life with the humans who pamper him with so much love. In exchange for... a vagabond life, wandering on the streets outside. Why? I don't know how cats think, maybe he got bored. Maybe he wants the freedom to roam, get wild and dirty. Just like kids who can't wait to grow up and leave the confines of family homes (no matter how comfortable) to get a taste of the world outside.
Just like the prodigal son in the bible who demanded from his father a share of the inheritance and left home to live his own life. Only to crawl back home in repentance after all the partying, realizing ultimately that money, wine, women and song - all the freedom to do as one pleases - doesn't enrich ,on the contrary it impoverishes. And the father who has been waiting so long to welcome him home, runs to meet the returning son, without any condemnation, accusation or even a whisper of "I told you so"... just pure unconditional love for one "who was dead and is now alive, who was lost and is now found."
I don't waste time waiting for our wayward Pretzel. But I know my heavenly Father waits ever so patiently for every prodigal son and daughter of His to come home, likewise every human parent who sees their children wander off the beaten track and get lost in jungles that seem so attractive, but are just traps that ensnare. Yet who are we to deny them the choice of which road to take . After all God Himself gives us all perfect absolute freedom to choose life or death, to accept or reject His grace. So like the biblical father who watches for the return of his son, I too watch and wait in expectation that my heavenly Father will keep and not let go any of His (my) own.
Pretzel is just a cat, but he seems to know he's got folks waiting for him to return. After disappearing for many months, one early morning, he walks nonchalantly into the house out of nowhere. He's all dirty but seemingly none the worse for wear and tear. He must be getting fed elsewhere, because he's not lost weight at all. He gobbles up his food as usual, plops himself for all of 5 seconds on the floor and would you believe it, he marches straight out the gate and is gone...again. And he's been repeating this "hi-bye, now u see me, now u don't" routine till today. Well, at least now that my no 2 is back, she lures him to stay and sleepover some nights with cat-treats. But it's not for long. Sometimes I see him walking along the drain behind, and I call him to come back, but he just ignores me. I guess it must be cat wander-lust.
I can't help but see the parallel with us humans, who treat God like Pretzel treats us, who saved him when he was a wretch of a kitten. Ungrateful, presumptuous, and yes, lustful. God calls it (spiritual) adultery. We treat our Creator as we like, all the while running after other loves in our lives. Yet it's an old familiar story told and retold throughout the bible. Through centuries man has played games with God. Through it all, God still loved and continues to love. Such is the unfathomable love of a God who pursues His beloved creation.. Whatever we do or don't do, however we respond or not.
Pretzel knows by instinct he will be fed, petted and cared for whenever he comes home. How sad, humans who are so much better and higher-endowed than animals, don't know or don't want to know the God who loves to the extent of coming to earth to die on the cross...for such as us, so that all can come home to Him, for good.
"...I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued My faithfulness to you." - Jeremiah 31:3
