Wild Cat

Wild Cat

Theology in the Trenches

by Kathleen Kjolhaug

And it came to pass, the cat was gone. GONE! For weeks it had been missing. We searched, called, meowed our best copy-cat of kitty-cat, rattled the food bag, looked round and about, but kitty-cat was gone. It wouldn’t have been so bad except for the fact that the black and white beauty had won the heart of one of the six and although it was years ago, I remember it well. The heart devastation was evident, the sadness about the separation authentic, and try as we might to console, the one missing her kitty-cat was flat out sad.

One day, as the school bus made its way round the neighborhood, our children made their way home in it. The crew had barely made it into the house when the outbursts began. “We found him! We found my cat! Really mom, this morning we saw him, and I can tell you right where he is!” The non-stop verbal explosion erupted while decompressing the feelings that had been pent up for quite some time now.

“We saw him mom when we dropped off the neighbors. It was our cat. We’re sure! Call them.  They have our cat!”

Having lived in the neighborhood for years now, I knew full well that nobody really knows whose cat is whose nor would anyone have intentionally taken someone else’s cat. If indeed ours had landed across the field, it must have been the cat’s doings. Perhaps there was food that had been set out, and the cat had become accustomed to gathering from it. No doubt that once it had gotten used to a new watering hole, it simply settled in. However it had arrived at its new destination, one thing was for certain and that was that it was the cat’s doings and not those who were currently housing it.

“Call em mom! Call em! They have our cat!”

And so, I did the only respectable thing a mama could do and that was to call them up! Within the hour, we had our beloved cat back. Kids were thrilled, the excitement was dying down, but just as it was, we noted a slight problem with kitty-cat. The problem was that the beloved cat who had once received love and attention within the confines of our home had been on its own without much of these added to its dish for quite some time now. Within minutes it was obvious that kitty-cat had had to fend for itself in the world at large…and it showed.

It no longer trusted and grabbed for food while scratching up a storm to do so. He had changed. Whatever it was that had happened in the few months he was not with us was obviously traumatizing. As we worked with him over the next several weeks, some of his patterns of behaviors returned quickly while others needed more time.

The cat survived, but the little one who tried to pick up where they’d left off emotionally with their beloved cat was devastated! The disheartened child quickly gave up hope that things would ever be the way they used to be. In fact, she flat out stormed off one day mumbling, “I give up!”

Thank God that He never does…give up that is! Deuteronomy 31:8 promises: “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” To His promises we not only trust, but cling.  Amen.