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Charlie has had a rough three months. You've met Charlie in my blogs before(1-1 & 1-29-05). He's my big twenty-two pound Coon Cat. Here's what happened. When cold weather began to set in last fall, I didn't want to jog outside, so I resorted to my treadmill inside. The first day I used it, Charlie really got mad at me. His morning routine is to do what cats were made to do--eat and sleep. When I started on the treadmill, the noise shattered his plans to nap. He came storming into the room where I was exercising, looked at my walking furiously and getting nowhere while making a great deal of noise. He then looked me in the eye, and with a scowl on his face, he let out a loud RAHOW! No, it wasn't a polite meow, as in, May I ask what you are doing? It was an angry, What on earth do you think you're doing!? After fussing at me, he stalked out of the room and stood by the door muttering his protestations out loud and remonstrating with my wife. Yes, cats can remonstrate. Funny how my mind works. I thought of Job. You remember the story in the Book of Job. God permitted Satan to physically and emotionally afflict Job. From chapters three to thirty-seven Job laments his suffering. He basically was saying, God, what on earth do you think you're doing!? God finally answers Job in chapters thirty-eight through forty-one. His reply was essentially, Job, I know what I'm doing. I didn't need your advice when I created the world, and I don't need your advice now. To Job's credit, his humble reply in chapter forty-two was, in essence, God, even though I don't understand, I know you love me and know that You know what you're doing. I thought about this today as I was working out on the treadmill. Charlie seems to have accepted what's going on. I'm thinking that, perhaps, after living with me for thirteen years, he knows that I love him. And even though he still doesn't understand what I'm doing, he has decided that, at least, I know what I'm doing. # # #