Overwhelmed!

About four weeks ago, I got two kittens from a friend of a friend. They are almost a year old, and seemed like it would be a good match. They were used to a busy household with two dogs and four cats, plus people coming and going. They seemed friendly and even let me pick one of them up when I visited.

Then I brought them home, and they went straight to the rafters of the basement. They have been hiding between the furnace vents and the ceiling, in the dark, spider-web-and-dusty places that no-one can reach.

We have fed them, cleaned their litter box (which, thankfully, they are using regularly) and tried to tempt them out with treats, catnip and little toys. It has been all to no avail!

These cats are acting like they are thoroughly traumatized and will not come out. Even at night, if one of them is at the feeder and I get up to walk to the bathroom, I hear frantic scrambling of feet to get back into hiding.

It is discouraging, but also perplexing.

I miss my lovely old cat, Emily, who had a tumour on her jaw and had to be put down in June. She was always happy to be where the action was, and adjusted to having two children in the house quite smoothly. A little hissing and scratching to put them in their place, and all was well. She allowed my older daughter to pick her up and carry her around (when normally she would fight it). I missed having someone to sit on my lap and purr. I don't have my hugs and cuddles anymore - I wanted another cat.

But now it seems like I was too hasty. These cats are overwhelmed. They are huddling, and even if I did want to send them back to their previous home, how would I get them out of the ceiling?

So, for now, I'm running a cat hotel.

But there are certain parallels to my life. This is a very hectic time for me at work, and I hardly know which end is up. The girls have had a relatively easy transition back to school (compared to the last two years, which were bumpy). I'm grateful for that.

At the same time, I feel like hiding in a dark corner at times. I feel so frantic with activity, wanting to run in every direction. And how does God coax me out of this place into the warm lap, the gentle word and stroke, the place of great love?

I am not fond of the dark place. It compounds the feelings of trauma, stress and anxiety. It isn't really safe, because things lurk there and prey on my mind. The only true place of rest is in the arms of the Lord. Help me to get there, because that's where I need to be!

Isaiah 40:1-2 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for.

Fix your eyes upon me because I AM the joy that is before you to help you endure the suffering that is upon you.

Consider me so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Know me to be faithful.
Know whom you have believed.

Find your rest in the unexpected moment of quiet. I will show you how to create a haven in your office. I will show you the quiet waters in your house. Even when the girls are home and active, you can find rest for your soul because your rest is in ME.

The burdens are not yours to carry.
Hope is not lost. It is springing eternally in your life. Hope is entirely in the hands of the Lord.