Maddox the Magnificent, Part 2 (or KittyBoy Genius)

After quite a long absence, I hope I'm back for awhile. The harvest is complete, the field work done and a graduate class to renew my teaching license is on the books, so I hope to have a little more time to devote to writing this blog.

When we last talked, I'd introduced you to the newest member of our home-zoo, Maddox the kitten, affectionately called Maddox the Magnificent by Jot. I've affectionately (or not) renamed him MadMax the Assassin Cat. But that's another story. Since you last saw him, he's taken over the house, whipped the dogs into shape, made two trips to the vet, and had a delicate (ahem) surgery scheduled for just before Christmas. But he's also been teaching us lessons. He's taught the kids that, unlike dogs, when you tease kittens they seek revenge. He's taught hubby that kittens can sleep so soundly when snuggled up to you that they appear dead; even sometimes after you shake them. And the little guy's reminded me of another lesson about just how much God loves me (and you!).

One afternoon shortly after MadMax moved into the house I found a few spare hours squeezed in between working, cooking, and running around like the proverbial headless chicken and took the little guy to the vet. I knew he had fleas and despite my countless baths (not a job for the weak), I couldn't get rid of them. And if he was going to live in the house he needed his vaccinations. So, in the carrier he went and off we headed to fix the kittyboy up.

The vet laughed at his blond-fluff appearance, cooed at his reluctance to exit the carrier, and cringed at the fleas vacationing in his long locks. The poor cat didn't know what hit him! He received two shots to rid him of untold maladies, a shot of some yucky yellow cream down his throat to kill the worms in his belly (yes, he had them), a dose of a smelly, oily topical to fend of fleas (yes), ear mites (oh, yeah), and more worms (you betcha). A thorough investigation of all his parts and a not-to-welcome thermometer in an unmentionable place sent him scurrying back into the carrier wide-eyed and fluff-tailed.

When I finally deposited him at home, you won't believe what that filthy, parasite-invested, diseased feline fiasco did. He didn't wring his hands thinking of the bad things he had done. He didn't slink embarrassed that he was full of gross stuff and wait to emerge when he was cleaner and healthier. He didn't scratch his way through the screen and run away, too mortified to face the family who loved him now that he knew how far from perfect he really was. Nope. None of that. He slept.

Yes, he crawled into his little bed under my desk and slept the afternoon away, only to awaken when the calls from the kids after school floated through the open window. He purred in response to their petting. He wove in and out of their legs as they stood making snacks. He crawled sleepily into their laps as they perched on the couch to watch cartoons. In short--he reveled in their lavish love of him.

Unlike so many "smarter" humans, that kitty didn't try to get himself clean, right, or holy before he accepted the love of his master. How many people do you know who try to clean themselves up, get their life in gear, or walk the straight-and-narrow before they will accept the love and salvation of their Master? We should take a lesson from a tiny kitten. Submit to the perfect care of the One Who loves us and He will become the Remedy for all that ails us.

Just like Jot says, "Maddox, you're a genius!"

Nikki Studebaker Barcus

Maddox the Magnificent

Well, what do you think? Does it look like my barn-cat-turned-house-cat is happy with his new arrangement? Here is Maddox the Magnificent, as Jot calls him, sound asleep on Jewel. His tiny raised paws remind me of my kids when they were newborns. It their tiny arms raised over their heads like that, I knew they were deep in sleep and would stay that way for a long time. This was my cue to take a shower, run the sweeper, or stretch out on the couch and be assured that I'd get at least 20 winks before my little bundle of joy beckoned.

The kids are in love with this blond, blue-eyed fluffer-nutter. They argue about who gets him in their bed. They come through the door after school calling his name. They pet him, hold him, and love on him any chance they get. And he just eats it up.

What did this little guy do to earn a place in my house and their hearts? Nothing much. He couldn't control that he was born a kitten instead of a rattlesnake. He didn't put in an order for his soft blond fur with the cute white feet. He had no say in the fact that his warm, soft, purring body makes him irresistible to hold. He is just living the life he's been assigned and they love him anyway.

What's more, they adore him in spite of his faults. I mean that little guy has some razor-sharp daggers that come out of the ends of his soft paws. His teeth are like lightning fast staples. He is a mite over-zealous in his use of the litter box, flicking the stuff all over my bathroom. When we brought him in, he hosted an army of fleas in that wealth of long hair. None of it mattered to the kids. The love Maddox simply because they invited him in and he's here to stay.

Kind of reminds me of when I brought each of them home from the hospital, a scenario that plays out in homes all over the world every day. Not even mentioning the pain or labor and delivery, we bring these foreigners into our homes and let them turn our worlds upside down. They have no way of communicating but to cry, they drain us of our energy, deprive us of our sleep, and defile us with bodily functions that spew from every orifice. But we love them, care for them, and sacrifice for them because we've invited them in and they are here to stay. We want them here and we'd give up everything to keep them with us.

Reminds me of another Parent. In the midst of our sinful lives, in spite of our horrendous faults, He gave up everything to keep us with Him. God gave up His only Son so we could live in His house with Him for eternity. Jesus gave up his sinless life to make a way for us to be reconciled to the God who can't even look at sin, but gave up everything to provide a way to make us sinless. And we did nothing to deserve His lavish love. We had nothing in us to draw Him to us. We stumble along this road called life and He loves us anyway.

Rest assured of God's love of you today. Be encouraged by Jesus' sacrifice for you today. Be comforted by the Holy Spirit's power in you today.