But it doesn't feel like playing when it's me

"because of the turmoil"

Job 20:2

This is my kitty, Hazel. 

why she's napping on the kitchen counter, I don't know.

Funny little thing.  Very talkative and very social (especially when the weather's cold and she wants to snuggle!).  We got her from the shelter, so we're not sure of her age, but we think she's about 10 or 11 years old.  But she seems just as healthy and spry as when we first got her. 

And she loves to play.  We have a dog, so Hazel has to carefully choose her times, but she will chase a string or ribbon, and my oh my, does she love a laser pointer in a dark room...

The kids and I were in my daughter's bedroom today, all of us hanging out in there because she didn't feel well.  We were each kinda doing our own thing when all of a sudden a noise and movement caught our eyes, from the doorway.  Hazel had wandered into the room, and was playing with a ponytail holder that was lying on the ground. 

Cats are so funny the way they pounce on things, but somehow I think it's even funnier when they try to play with something that's inanimate.  This toy wasn't even moving.  It was just lying there until she pounced and made it move a little.  Then she could get her paw under it, to toss it in the air a little, and try to catch it. 

This went on for several minutes, and we were all having a ball.  Hazel was enjoying her little game, and we were enjoying watching her funny little antics, punctuated by short pauses to clean herself.  Cats need to do that frequently, to regain their dignity, I'm convinced. 

But while I was watching her, I wondered if she was aware that she was playing with herself.  Did she realize that she was the cause of that ponytail band suddenly flying into the air?  Or does a cat's brain work such that once she flipped it, she was only reacting to it, and she'd forgotten that she was the one that did the flipping?

And then I thought, I wonder how often I'm the cause of my own unrest?  How often do I think I'm dealing with the chaos that life throws at me, when really, I'm suffering the consequences of my own actions. 

Trouble can be caused by the world, by the enemy, or by myself.  But no matter what, He is the source of peace.

~ "When He gives quietness,

who then can make trouble?" ~

Job 34:29

~