Skip to main content

Jazz and the vet

This is my cat Jazz, sleeping. It is unusual to capture a picture of her napping because she is like a military operative in enemy territory - never totally letting her guard down, always alert and usually waking up at the slightest noise or movement.

I took her to the vet yesterday for her annual check-up and vaccinations and all went well - no one was hurt. I mention this because last year she attacked the vet and drew blood, so now there is a note in her file that she is to be handled with extra caution (an assistant with a towel and leather gloves) and it keeps everyone safe. Sigh. It is not that Jazz is really dangerous, it is just that she hates someone making her do stuff she does not want to do, and she likes her personal space...A LOT! There is a fierce independent streak in her and she will protest and even attack if that is threatened in a significant way.

Let me confess that I identify with Jazz in some way - not that I like to lick myself to get clean or sleep 20 hours a day (well, some would argue the latter point), but I do not like to have my basic independence and apparent well-being challenged. Admit it, when you are being poked uncomfortably hard in all your sensitive areas and your limbs are being constricted and various orifices are being prodded and sharp objects are being introduced into your back side while your face and chest are being mashed firmly against the table and you can't even see the person who is doing all this to do...well, one hardly wonders why she thinks that getting all her claws out is the appropriate response.

Some people insist that God is not trustworthy because they experience pain and suffering, have unwanted restrictions in their lives, some sensitive areas have been exposed and prodded, and all without any explanation or apparent reason, much less face to face contact to reassure them that this is all being done for a greater good.

I admit it, I do not always understand the ways of God, but understanding is not absolutely necessary for love and trust to be present - just look at the parent/child relationship. I was talking to someone this week who questioned the validity of faith in God and I told them, "I do not expect you to trust someone you do not know."

After Jazz had growled and bared her teeth and spat and hissed and tried to strike and claw and fight her way out from the grip of the vet and her assistant and their tools of restraint, they let her go and asked if I was okay to take her from there. I said, "No problem." I reached down, spoke Jazz's name in a reassuring manner as I pulled her from beneath the chair she was seeking refuge under, and lifted her into my arms without so much as a struggle or a sound on her part. Even the most fierce souls can find their way to a place of trust.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

comedic timing

Comic by Joel Micah Harris at xkcd.com One of my favourite jokes goes like this: Knock, knock. Who's there? Interrupting cow Interrupting cow w--- Moooooooo!! Timing is important in both drama and comedy. A well-paced story draws the audience in and helps it invest in the characters, while a tale too hastily told or too long drawn out will fail to engage anyone. Surprise - something which interrupts the expected - is a creative use of timing and integral to any good story. If someone is reading a novel and everything unfolds in a predictable manner, they will probably wonder why they bothered reading the book. And so it is in life. Having life be predictable all of the time is not as calming as it sounds. We love surprises, especially good surprises like birthday parties, gifts, marriage proposals, and finding something that we thought was lost. Surprises are an important part of humour. A good joke is funny because it goes to a place you didn't expect it to go. Sim...
Post a Comment
Read more

what's on your breastplate?

Who wants to be a priest? I asked this question in my faith community this past Sunday and a few eager hands went up. But there were also looks of puzzlement. Perhaps some people were thinking, "Maybe, but what exactly does a priest do?" I am so glad you asked. The first mention of a priest in the Scriptures is Melchizedek in Genesis 14. Abram has just rescued Lot and his household from capture (they got caught in a war between rivalling kings), and when he returns, he is greeted by the grateful king of Sodom and a priest. “And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!’” (Genesis 14:18-20, NRSV) So what does this tell us about what it means to be a priest? First, this priest was also a king. Subsequent priests were not kings, so this double role was unique to...
1 comment
Read more

Names of God

The Hebrew word "YHWH" (read from right to left) This past Sunday I gave a talk on the Names of God, the beginning of a series on this topic. This first talk was to be a gentle introduction so I thought it wouldn't take too many hours of preparation. Well, I quickly discovered that the research is almost bottomless; every time I thought I had a somewhat definitive list of names, I found another source which added a few more or gave a different twist on some of the names I had already come across. After several hours I was getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data (and that was only looking at the Hebrew Bible). I wondered how I could present this to people in an orderly and accessible fashion and within a reasonable time frame. Not everyone is up for a 3-hour lecture crammed full of detail on a Sunday morning. So I took a break and spent a bit of time meditating on this problem and asking the Spirit for guidance. And then I thought that being overwhelmed by Go...
3 comments
Read more