Friday, December 07, 2007

Patience is a virtue

My beautiful Lilly-cat had some surgery on her front leg last week. It wasn't too big a deal (we hope), just getting a tumor removed, but naturally it required stitches. Lilly wouldn't leave the stitches alone, and as we couldn't very well let her tear them out with her teeth, we had to cover the wound with gauze.

Tonight I noticed the skin above the gauze is all raw where she's been trying to gnaw it off, and every once in a while she'll let out the most pitiful meow. When I rewrapped it this evening, I made it cover the raw patch. So all her efforts have done is make the bandage larger. It's such a shame: if she'd leave it alone, she wouldn't need one at all.

But just now she's sitting on my lap purring. All she needs is love--and sometimes a little thin-sliced deli meat.

I know why Lilly and I get on so well. We're a lot alike. Mostly I'm pretty happy if my people are with me and happy with me, and send little goodies my way, but if God should happen to want something irritating for me, suddenly I'm not nearly so pleasant. TAKE this gauze off, Sir! And these stitches, what do I need them for? Rip--rip--rip--and then I wonder why there's blood all over the rug.

It's quite amazing what some trust and patience will do. God actually does know what's good for me better than I know it myself. And patience is apparently a virtue for a reason--go figure. :-)

1 comment:

Jessielynn said...

Thanks for putting into words some of the story of these last 3 weeks for me. Yet again I see that I tend to use trial as an excuse for angry rebellion rather than an opportunity for quiet trust.