"the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control"
Galatians 5:22-23
I took a nap the other day. A short one. Well, it was Sunday. You know, the day of rest. So I did.
And my cat napped with me. So I guess you could say I had a cat-nap. Very rewarding.... I can see why they do it all day.
It was so restful, lying there with my sweet little ball of fur. And I thought, not for the first time, how much I love owning a cat. She is sweet and gentle, and she brings me peace. And that thought made me think about one of my favorite passages of Scripture ~ the fruits of the Spirit. And then I started to think of how my cat and my dog are illustrations of these characteristics for me. So I thought I'd share with you!
Love ~ this one is both of them. They both have different ways of showing love to our family, but they both do. Welcoming us when we come home, greeting us when we get up in the morning, or when we come into a room. They encourage love from us, and they give it right back.
Joy ~ this one is mostly the dog. The cat does make us laugh when she plays with something. She still loves to be teased with a feather or a string ~ if she's not napping, that is. But I have to say that our dog is the most joyful. Energetic, playful, easily excitable. And when she's happy, she even looks like she's smiling.
Peace ~ as I've discussed, I'm going to give the edge to the kitty on this one. Serene and quiet... even her movements are, well, as agile as a cat. Unless of course, she's chasing a string. But the dog gets points for peace, too. Peace of mind. She's a great watchdog, and it helps me be at peace to know she's there.
Patience ~ seems like the cat should get the edge here. She's mellow and calm and rarely in a hurry. But I think her apathy disqualifies her from the category of patience. Why should she get points for waiting patiently when she doesn't care? That's not patience. Besides, if her food bowl is empty, she's far from patient. Even if it's 3:00 in the morning....
The dog, on the other hand, displays patience every single day. If she wants to go out, she politely asks at the back door, and then waits for us. On the off chance we don't notice her, she will run to one of us, then run back and sit patiently again.
But the real reason she wins the patience award is for her behavior when the Apple of my Eye gets home from work. As I've mentioned before, she adores him. So when his car pulls in the driveway, and the garage door opens, she gets very excited. But she knows she's not allowed to leave the house. And that she has to wait for him to come in, and say hi to his people before he says hi to her. So she sits, trembling and whimpering until she gets the command to come. And then, boy oh boy, does she come. But not until she's allowed. And the patience she shows while she's waiting is admirable.
Kindness ~ The next couple of these are hard to define in a pet, but I really think both of them are kind. They both come when you call them ~ yes, even the cat! ~ and jump up in your lap to cuddle with you. It's one of the reasons I chose this particular cat from the shelter. We had gone into the little room where you can sit with a cat to get to know them, and even though she didn't know us at all, when I patted my lap, she came and sat down. That's a nice trait to have in a pet. :)
Goodness ~ Another tricky one, but there are a lot of definitions for the word good. The first says "to be desired or approved of" ~ That's the dog, for sure. She practically says, "how am I doing? Are you happy? Can I help you with something? Do you love me?"
The next definition says "pleasing and welcome" ~ that's both of them. They make us happy.
"Expressing approval" ~ that's the dog. She always makes you feel like you've done something wonderful, even if all you've done is get out of bed in the morning.
"Having specific needed qualities" ~ well that's both of them, too. The cat has what she needs to be a cat; the dog is a successful dog.
Faithfulness ~ This, I think, is both of them, too. Both are true and loyal in their own way. There's no insincerity to either of them, so they are who you expect them to be. You can count on each of them, you know?
Gentleness ~ Gotta give the edge to the cat here. The dog has a certain charming clumsiness to her. She'll walk right over you as soon as lick ya. But the cat has that wonderful gentleness that only cats have. Padding along on velvet paws, jumping up on the bed with barely an impact. Delicate and gentle.
And finally: Self-control ~ As I've mentioned, the dog is pretty good at obeying, even if the command is "wait," and even if what she's waiting for, is a piece of dropped food. Now, if she can grab it before you notice it, she will. But if you head her off and tell her to sit, she will. And sometimes, when she wants to go out, and the cat wants to come in, and I don't want her to run right over the cat {see: the dog's lack of "Gentleness"...} I will tell the dog to sit, and then open the door. The cat walks in, while the dog just sits looking up at me, not really knowing why she's waiting. Then I give her the release command, and off she runs. She doesn't necessarily understand why I had her wait, but she did as she was told.
I really believe it was part of God's plan all along, for us to have a relationship with animals. Not just for the love and affection, but for what we can learn from them, too!
~ "And God made the beasts of the earth...
And God saw that it was good" ~
Genesis 1:25
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