Meet Izzy.
Her name has not been changed to hide her identity. She prefers that our readers know her name and appreciate her cuteness. As a young kitten, she was abandoned in the cold, but a loving mother figure took her in, cleaned her up, kept her warm and fed, snuggled with her, and loved her beyond Izzy’s comprehension. She was given a home—a beautiful home.
Even so, Izzy chooses to sleep in a cardboard box. On the hard floor. Giving up her spots in the house, spots that her loving mother figure has agreed are truly Izzy’s. Spots on the couch or on the windowsill in the warm sun or in front of the fire.
I believe Izzy and I are a lot alike. Possibly all of us and Izzy are a lot alike. When we asked for help and needed rescuing, the Lord took us in and gave us all He had—and He does own all the cattle on a thousand hills (as well as all the mice in the wheat field). He welcomed us into His life and His kingdom. He cleaned us up inside and out. He cared for us, met our needs, and gave us people who loved us more than we could comprehend.
But we often choose to live on the outer edge of His world, barely tapping into the abundance of His love. We struggle with anger, we struggle with lack of control, and we struggle with our mean-streak. We simply struggle to live the life He has offered. He forgives, yet we live with guilt. He guides, but we want to do it our way. He says, “Ask and it shall be given to you,” but we don’t even ask. He says love and we ...
The more I think about Izzy sleeping peacefully in her cardboard box—in the middle of the house that is hers to roam in and to bring home treasures (not another mouse) to her loving mother figure—the more I wonder if Izzy has it right? That the struggle is not necessary. Is it possible that God loves us so much and makes our relationship with Him so easy that being comfortable right where we are is all we need?
I think we should be more like Izzy. What do you think?
(Photo courtesy of the author.)
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Susan Paulus is the mother of three adult daughters and grandmother to nine and has been married for over 60 years. She loves her part-time job at her small church in Northwest Ohio, is challenged by the two writers' groups she attends, and loves remembering she was led to the Lord in the mid 1970's by a woman who prayed, "Lord, use me."