A Lesson in Faith

All About Gideon 

This is Gideon. 

I am his human whose sole purpose in life, according to him, is to maintain the luxury of living he has grown accustomed to. 

 

These are Gideon’s cousins, Staples and Rocky, several species removed.  They are sister and brother. 

The two siblings live in Kennesaw, GA.  Gideon used to fancy himself a dog until he spent nearly a month with his cousins this summer.  Today, Gideon clearly understands his role as a cat and has become even more impossible to live with.  He is king of the castle; but, that’s an entirely different story!    

Two weeks prior to my trip to California I could not find anyone to care for Gideon during those 16 days.  Gideon’s care reached an all time crisis.  The sibs “mother” suggested I bring him to her.  I’m thinking, she’s started a pet care business.  She loves animals.  She loves Gideon.  She’ll take exceptional care of him.  She also thinks she’s the sib’s mama.  I can trust that, right?  I agree to bring him. 

I pray.  I research.  I pray.  I start car training.  I pray some more.  Gideon’s handling this fairly well.....

…....until I put the crate into the car, that is!  I am adamant about not giving him a sedative, trusting God to care for him and use the herbal remedy that helped with the noise over July 4th.  The SUV is packed, completely stocked for every possible scenario Gideon could create in the car.  I take a leap of faith declaring,

 

“Lord, I know you care about Gideon because You care about all of Your creation.  He hates being in the car.  You be his sedative.  It is a long drive. Don’t let him pee and poop in the crate, help him to use the litter box.  Help him not be frightened.  I trust You to be with him, to be with me and get us to Georgia safely and without duress.”

Gideon and I set out early morning.  Gideon is howling, nonstop.  I am storming the gates of Heaven, confessing in good faith, God is going to answer my prayers.  Two hours into the trip, just outside of Richmond, I smell the worst case scenario.  It is still dark out so I find a well lit gas station to pull into.  Groaning I get out, switching over from praying to fussing at the devil informing him I do trust the Lord to answer my prayer and I remind myself I am well prepared for such a time as this.  I get all the supplies together and while unzipping one side of the crate, I attach the free end of his leash to his harness.  I wipe him down and allow him to roam the SUV while I clean out the crate and bag the soiled blanket, which he has now inherited for life.  I check the dry pads and see nothing soaked through, (hallelujah), saturate the car with Fabreeze Linen and Sky and lay out a new blanket for him.  After grappling him back into the crate, I go wash my hands, stifle a tear or two and get us back out on the road.  Mind you, I’m still speaking out in faith God is going to answer my prayer despite the fact Gideon’s just pooped in the crate two hours into the trip!  It is more petulant, but a prayer nevertheless.

To my astonishment, passing through Richmond, Gideon got very quiet.  First, I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Jesus….all the way into North Carolina!  However, Gideon got too quiet and as I drove into Durham, NC my overactive imagination began to fear my cat had perished due to prolonged anxiety!  I’m going to be the only person in history whose pet died due to anxiety.  Great.

Shortly after, I heard a faint sound of life.  Inwardly, I truly breathed a sigh of relief.  I really thought I killed my cat.  Well, not really, but I was preoccupied with the idea of it!  As we approached three hours, the faint sound of life grew to an incessant cry.  I pull into a place nicely shaded and hook him to his leash so he can use the litter box and eat some food and drink some water.  The crate is dry and clean, he uses the box, he eats and it is cool enough for me to leave him in the car to care for my own needs.  After about a 30 minute break, I wrestle him back into the crate and we are off.  For the next seven hours we repeat the same routine, Gideon cries incessantly for 30 minutes then off and on for two hours.  I stop when he begins to cry continually.  He takes care of business while I take care of business.  I wrestle him inside the crate and the cycle continues….all the way to Atlanta, GA.  Arriving in Kennesaw I carry Gideon into the house.  The sibs are excited to see “Aunt Rochelle” and are jumping all over me.  Gideon stiffens and proceeds to dig his claws into my side glaring at me with a “You’ve got to be kidding,” look of sheer disgust. 

 

In case you are wondering, this is what that look entails. 

 

I get it all the time so I’m the least bit intimidated.

 

I run him upstairs and leave him in a room, thinking, “Lord, what have I done?”  My friend says, “It will be fine.”  I’m thinking, “Thankfully, it is a big house.”  What can go wrong?  He’s bigger than the dogs, after all.  After a round of hugs (humans) and scratches behind the ears (dogs) we unpack the car.  Gideon is in no way interested in being introduced to cousins no matter how many species removed they claim to be.  Rocky, however, is incredibly interested in Gideon.   Staples, smart girl that she is, lets the boys figure it out.  She knows she’s the alpha.  I stayed a week to visit and that helped get him comfortable.  It will have to be fine.  And, it was.   Three weeks later, they were picking on each other just like siblings and cousins do.

I returned from California and drove back to Georgia to retrieve my owner.  I am tired, I want so much to visit, but I am ready to be home.  I’m not looking forward to driving back to Maryland with Gideon.  I pray, desperately holding onto faith that God answers our prayers.  I remember His timing is not ours, but His timing is best.  I remember how the Lord chooses to answer our prayers often does not resemble the outcome we want.  I wonder if too often we miss His answer because it is difficult to see how and when He has moved on our behalf because we are looking for our way instead of being focused on His will and way. 

Awhile back, I began praying, telling Christ the manner in which He answered my prayers was to His discretion, giving Him total control.  That was hard, but I have discovered that waiting on Him can be exciting and something to anticipate when we truly believe He hears us and will answer, even if He answers differently than what’s desired and we must wait a long time.  We have to believe Him.  We have to believe that He will do what He says He will do because He will.  He cannot go back on His Word.  It is not His nature.   His nature is faithful, true and a Keeper of Promises. 

I began my journey to Maryland with Gideon, completely void of much faith that this trip back would go as smoothly as I would like.  I had to admit I was disappointed with how the first half of the trip went and was not holding out for much better on the way back.  I was praying, but not with the determination and assurance as before, with unabandoned faith.  I was battle worn.  Even if God didn’t answer my prayer this trip, I believe He has His reasons and it will be enough.  Deep in my soul I heard His still voice telling me “You just need the faith of a mustard seed.”  Waving my last goodbye I pull out and head down the street.   I have not gotten to the freeway yet and guess who poops and is howling like someone is torturing him.  “Really?”  I groan.  I pull into the shopping center lot and go through the routine of cleaning up.  He’s not peed, so the clean-up is quick and easy. As I clean up I tell myself, it is all right, I do not know when, but God is going to answer my prayer.   I run into a restroom to wash my hands and unexpectantly I feel a peace come over me.  It is going to be all right, I don’t know what is going to happen, but I know that I know, it is going to be all right.  I head out and reaching each stop approximately three hours apart, Gideon becomes more and more relaxed.  He uses the litter box, drinks water, eats food and surprisingly goes willingly back inside the crate.  More astonishing than that, I rarely hear a sound from him.  I peek through the rear view mirror and he’s just laying there looking out the crate or sleeping.  I start to laugh.

Amazingly, the last hour of the trip, stopping for gas, Gideon never make a sound nor did he get up!  I unzip the crate to let him out and he just stares at me with no intention of moving.  I zip the flap back up and head over the bridge singing God’s praises for His goodness and mercies every day.  What a wondrous God who loves us at our weakest, who sees us in our most dire moments that He should care for the most simplest needs in our lives!

We can turn to Him when in need, when heavy laden with burdens, and overwhelmed with fear.  He cares about what matters to us, where we’ve been, what we are going through, and where we will go.  He knows and loves us through it all.  There is no other One who can answer our deepest most secret prayers, but we must be willing to receive how He chooses to bring about an answer and trust that when He does it will be far greater than anything we could have pulled off or imagined!  I have a pastor friend who occasionally must chastise my impatience with “Wait on God and keep doing what you are doing.”  Typically, I roll my eyes, but what wise advice to keep ourselves focused on His plan instead of our own.  I thought waiting until Gideon pooped at the house would alleviate his soiling inside the crate.  Then, when he in fact did poop, both times, my faith plummeted.  I needed to wait for God to answer my prayer and keep doing what I was supposed to be doing.  I was supposed to be following the guidance I learned about traveling with a cat resting in His promise to take care of Gideon’s needs which included relieving himself in the way that allowed him to gain comfort.  I was not supposed to be stressing out over his pooping in the car or distain for the dogs who just wanted to be his friend. 

God answered my prayer regarding Gideon, in a manner that was best for Gideon, not me. 

I am unable to will Gideon to trust he was not going to the vet.  I am unable to get Gideon to spend the day of travel sleeping as if he was propped on my pillow in bed.  God had a plan the moment I asked for Him to step in.  He took this opportunity to provide Gideon with a positive experience with being in the car.  He used this time in my life to strengthen my resolve to believe Him, to surrender to Him all that I am.  I had to be willing to acknowledge that and relinquish my will and conform to His.  The moment I did, what an enjoyable time of travel we had!  I got home making excellent time, just as the sun set, energized by the blessing of answered prayer, His way.

 

PRAY, CONSIDER, RECEIVE, SHARE 

     Please PRAY for hopelessness that abounds.  There is hope in Jesus Christ, our constant and refuge.  He never changes and is ever present.  He came to right a fallen world.  We are living in times where there is a great removal of integrity and sin is legalized.  1 Thessalonians  5: 16-18 instructs us to rejoice in all things and pray without ceasing, rejoicing in all things.  When things are not going our way, when we are not receiving the answer to prayer we wanted or when we wanted we must praise Him anyway.  He is at work and the answer is one its way, even when we are unable to see Him making a way.  When we can not see a way out of our circumstances, we must rejoice until we do.  Faith dictates we live joyfully when times are rough.  It stretches us and we grow stronger, developing our faith.  Satan wishes to keep us distracted from the will of God, His ways and truths.  He is successful when we allow disappointment to discourage and defeat us.  Do not give the devil that foothold.  Stand strong, through prayer and supplication, in all things, at all times.  Trust God and go to Him in prayer for He hears you, knows you and loves  you.  
       We must pray for the wrongs we witness and experience, for those who hurt and mistreat us.  If we do not, where will they see Christ revealed?  It is difficult to pray for those who hurt, abuse and persecute others.  It is through our steadfast love for Christ, demonstrated when it matters most that the testimony of salvation is clearest.  Count it an honor to suffer for Christ, reach out with the condition of those hearts that reeks havoc in mind.  It is a heart that does not know the love of Jesus for him or her.  Pray for those who are living outside of His love for them.  Their world is dark and without direction.  Pray for the glory of God to shine in the lives of those who need Him most so they may come to know Him as Lord.  Prayer changes everything because the Lord of all creation deems prayer as a sweet fragrance that rise before Him.

       For those in Christ, our confidence comes from knowing God’s redemption plan restores us back to Him.  It is there we find ultimate peace in knowing Jesus brings salvation to all who will receive.   Jesus is the Way, the Truth and Life.  Only He can reconcile our hearts back to God.  Seek the Way.  Learn of Truth.  Choose Life.   Please PRAY that people develop a hunger and thirst to know more of Jesus.  Pray hearts open to hear the Good News of God's plan to reconcile all creation back to Him through His Son Jesus Christ.  Pray for spiritual growth with the people of America, that they embrace their faith in Jesus, fully trusting in Him.  Pray that those in Christ boldly live out their faith for others to see, a living witness to God’s grace and mercy.  May we all not just believe in Jesus, but believe Him.

     Please CONSIDER giving, through donations or volunteer service locally within your own community, fulfilling the Great Commission through service to the poor and neglected people of our country and other regions worldwide.   Consider praying for you community, schools, state and nation as you walk, run or swim laps.  Pray as God reveals what is going on around you when you drive or use public transportation.

     RECEIVE the Lord's eternal blessing for your partnership in whichever manner He guides you in. 

    Please SHARE this blog with anyone you know who is interested in developing their faith in Christ and serving his or her "neighbor". 


PRAYER REQUESTS

Please keep Noel, Mindy, their unit and others deployed in prayer as they are in Afghanistan.  They are scheduled to return to Georgia next month.  Keep their families in prayer as they endure this last month without their loved one at home.

Please be in prayer regarding the genocide of believers, including children, who are being martyred in Iraq.

Pray for our children as they begin a new school year.   They are exposed to practices that do not line up with the word of God and the temptations are vast.  Pray that they are able to stand on and for their faith in Christ. 


To hear learn more about car training a cat (for those wishing to stretch their faith):
Go to:  http://cats.about.com/od/amyshojai/a/8-Tips-To-Prepare-Cats-for-Car-Travel.htm

To learn more about praying the Lord's prayer:
Go to:  http://teachustopray.org/how-we-pray/

To learn more about prayerwalking:
Go to:  http://waymakers.org/pray/prayerwalking/

             http://media1.imbresources.org/files/85/8521/8521-46574.pdf