Josiah Road

Temptation Killer Cat

posted by Carly Bergthold 9Sep

As a die-hard cat person, one of my small joys is randomly coming across a cat or kitten. One day a beautiful Siamese-looking cat wandered into my yard. I caught my breath. Would it let me pet it? Did it live nearby so that it could visit more often? Most importantly, would my self-proclaimed guard cat be in sight range? In the past, if by chance another cat came within Ypsie’s boundaries, there would be a cat fight to raise the dead. Ypsie always wins and has plenty of battle scars to prove it. Even if I try to communicate to him that another cat is harmless, he beats it up. No joke.

So that day the Siamese was outside, I was hoping beyond hope that Ypsie was roaming elsewhere in the neighborhood. Stepping out the door, I perused the area and didn’t see him anywhere. Happily I found out that the unfamiliar cat was as approachable as she was lovely.

I was rubbing her ears when she suddenly tensed up, and I glanced back to find a black ball of fur flying past me, and consequently, toward the Siamese. “Ypsie!” I cried in a warning tone, but it was too late. He launched himself at the other cat, and they proceeded to beat, scratch, and bite each other to shreds. Finally I got Ypsie to stop by shaking his food container, and the Siamese ran away bleeding. Thankfully she didn’t look too bad. Ypsie, on the other hand, was more damaged than I’d ever seen him. There was a large gash on his back, and…oh no. His ear was torn off! How could he be strutting towards me, proud of his “victory,” when his ear was laying on the ground somewhere?

Suddenly I was struck by the realization that it was my fault! I knew that my cat couldn’t stand competitors, and I had led him on anyway. I started to scream and went inside to find some available help. My mother, who is not a cat person, quickly came, examined him, and told me that his ear hadn’t fallen off. It was merely bloody and twisted inside itself, and that’s why it looked like it was gone. Needless to say, this was very relieving news, but it still took me some time to calm down.

Like Ypsie, I know God is always watching, even when I don’t see or feel Him. Sometimes, though, I wish He could make a more dramatic appearance when I‘m about to make a bad decision. I like to imagine myself being tempted, and God jumping in my mind and obliterating the very thought of sin. Regrettably, it is not to be so. For some strange reason my Savior wants me to trust and obey Him with or without spectacular displays of power. Who would have thought? Now I realize that God is always there, and I’ll consult Him before associating with questionable things or, um, cats.