Skittishness

When my daughter, who is now a teacher, was in late elementary school, she used to pet sit.
People in the neighborhood hired her because she loved animals.
People in the neighborhood hired her because they could trust her.
They knew that she would be faithful to care for their animals and their house as well.

She took her job very seriously.
Quite often, she would pet sit for our neighbors next door, who have since moved away.
We shared the same last name, which made it quite interesting for the mailman.
They had a large golden retriever and two cats.

Since our neighbors had a pool and a fenced in yard, the dog was quite content to stay there.
My daughter would play with him.
She would give him her attention.
She would sit with him, and pet him, and let him know he was not alone.

The two cats were a different story.
One cat was friendly and playful.
The other was ornery, which was the word the owners used to describe him.
That word was a perfect description, since he wanted no part of any human contact.

My daughter would go out our kitchen door and walk across the driveway.
We were such good neighbors and friends, we actually had a path through the tree line.
A well-worn path that many sets of feet had pressed down over the years.
A path that we maintained so that no vines would grow over and block our way.

My daughter no sooner got to the house, she called me on the phone.
Mom, Floyd is not here; he’s not anywhere.
Since Floyd was the ornery cat, I assumed that he was staying out of sight.
The cats were inside and outside cats; Floyd liked to spend time exploring.

Our neighbors took such good care of their animals.
The animals had been neutered.
They were well loved.
Floyd had been outside and was nowhere to be found.

There were landscaping railroad ties at the end of their driveway.
When I walked over to see if I could help my daughter look for the cat, I saw her.
She was sitting on the railroad ties with her head in her hands.
He’s lost and it’s my fault; I’m going to sit here until he comes back.

It wasn’t her fault since Floyd was in the habit of staying away overnight.
He is off chasing a mouse somewhere; he will be back, I told her.
I remembered that our neighbors told me that Floyd will go off from time to time.
It was just unfortunate that he went off on my daughter’s watch.

The next morning she went over to the house before going to school.
Floyd was there sitting by the garage door.
He ran inside and went right to his food dish.
She was so glad to see him but was also annoyed at the same time.

Another afternoon, months later, my daughter was pet sitting again.
She called me as soon as she got to the house.
Mom, there is a squirrel in here; he’s running around everywhere!
I used the well-worn path and walked over to our neighbor’s house.

Sure enough, a squirrel had come down the fireplace flue, since we saw little footprints of ash.
Our neighbors had gone away and left the fireplace flue open.
It had been quite cold that week and the squirrel came in to get warm.
We closed off every area except the family room and opened their slider doors.

Eventually, the squirrel found its way outside.
I cleaned the room up as best I could and left a note on their kitchen island.
I remember how skittish the squirrel had been.
The squirrel didn’t want any human contact either.

I thought of all of this on my walk.
I watched a squirrel dart across the road with a nut in its mouth.
He sensed my presence and darted away.
He doubled back on his steps and went back the way he came.

I thought of the many skittish squirrels I see on the road.
They run out and seem to sense that a car is coming.
They double back, change their mind, and then make a mad dash across the road.
Skittish and foolish.

The day that the squirrel came down the fireplace flue, I had noticed a few things.
There was no convincing the squirrel that we were there to help him.
There was no convincing the squirrel that all the open doors were for his escape.
I remember thinking if I could only be a squirrel to help him understand.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy  and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15,16)

Jesus, fully God, humbled Himself and became fully man.
Jesus became one of us, so He could understand our skittishness.
Jesus saw our need to double back and then make a mad dash towards things that hurt us.
That is what sin does; it destroys.

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. (John 1:14)
Jesus knew the things that make us skittish and fearful.
Jesus experienced everything that we experience, yet was without sin.
Jesus is the open Door that frees us from the power of sin and death.

The squirrel darted back and forth, and did not trust that we were there to help him.
Jesus understands all the trials of this world.
Jesus understands suffering.
Jesus is victorious over sin and death so that our skittishness and fear is gone.

Doubling back is exhausting.
Being skittish makes us skeptical.
The Door is open, yet we continue to run aimlessly on our hamster wheels.
The Door is open.

Do you see the open Door?
Do you see Jesus showing you the way?
There is no more need to run and hide.
Go through the Door, which is Jesus, and run safely into His arms.

2 responses to “Skittishness”

1. Gina,

   Each morning one of the first things I do is look for your Whispers of His Movement! It continues to amaze me how you relate everyday happenings to Scripture and reach the readers right where they are.

   Thanks so much for sharing your writings and especially your devotion to our Lord. I love your blog on skittishness..

   Jeff

   Reply

   • Jeff,
     I am so delighted that these Whispers are part of your morning routine. Thank you for your kind words. Only by the grace of God can I write these devotions each day. God is there. God is everywhere. We really don’t have to look very far to find Him. Continue to be blessed.
     Gina

     Reply