Oh, how I love to hear my cats purr.
A purr is a spontaneous gift, an expression of contentment that comes rumbling out of their inner being. By nature a voluntary offering, it is all the more precious because it is not produced on demand. Freely given, it is freely received by this one who simply rejoices that her cats are happy in that moment and are simply letting her know.
Have you ever wondered if God loves the same, and how His ears must tickle at an unsolicited expression of happiness and gratitude? How long has it been since God heard you purr?
Perhaps your communication with Him of late has been more along the lines of loud meows when you're hungry or in need of something, a cry to get his attention, perhaps, or a howl of complaint about some situation that is not to your liking. Truly God hears and responds to these as He promised to do when He took you in as His child.
When God meets any need in our lives we are rightly trained to say thanks. We regularly set aside certain hours of the day or week to offer the same individually or corporately with our local body of believers. Thanking God can be a pre-planned and scheduled event in our lives.
But what about those times when it's not? What about the times when you suddenly realize how incredibly happy you are in a particular moment... perhaps even for no specific reason... and you simply stop at that juncture, lift your eyes or your hands but always your heart... to share the joy in that instant with Him? That's a purr... and it delights God's heart like no other.
My morning meeting with God is made all the sweeter when I suddenly notice the black cat spreadeagled across my open journals, purring her happiness at simply spending that morning time with me as I slowly sip my first cup of coffee of the day. It never fails to bring a smile to my face and move my hand to stroke her gently on her head a couple of times, the only physical contact she ever allows. (Sometimes we, too, are guilty of restricting the amount of love we will receive from above – but that's a story for a different time.)
My feline youngster on the other hand, an eight-month old grey tabby, purrs loudly as he kneads his paws into a squishy blanket, jumps on my lap for a quick visit, or cuddles under my neck while I'm lying in bed. He loves to be stroked in return, repeatedly, endlessly...until my hand stills in that action as we fall asleep together in blissful peace.
This month of Thanksgiving we are all rightly focused on gratitude. But what if we became more catlike in our responses to God in the next three weeks, and express our thanks in unsolicited, unexpected, and maybe even unspoken ways... a sudden rumbling in our spirits that He can't help but hear and delight in... and perhaps respond to in unexpected ways Himself.
Let God hear you purr.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
(Psalm 107:1 NIV)
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