Small But Spunky Special

Special and the Stray Cat

                Glancing out the window soon after coming inside, I glimpsed the annoying stray tomcat. Inwardly, I groaned since I had just gotten out of my winter “choring” clothes. Not finding a minor catastrophe to handle that morning led me to anticipate a rewarding time of Bible study. Now the unwanted stray cat appeared.

 I paused a moment at the window and waited to see what would happen. Our beloved orange tomcats, Tailer2 and Striker, had finished eating. As they saw the stray tomcat slinking up to the cat feeding area, they chose to vacate that area rapidly.

Special, our white female cat, huddled on the winterized area next to the cat food containers. The winterized area is comprised of large pieces of heavy cardboard flattened and spread out with an old piece of outdoor carpeting thrown on top of it. Special had her back to the approaching intruder.

Cailea and Special. Cailea named Special when she visited her as a small
kitten. This photo was taken during their spring break visit in 2017.

Suddenly, she sensed his impending arrival. She rose from her comfy spot, turned to meet the unwanted cat, and moved toward him. As Special approached the stray tomcat, he began to run away from the feeding area.

I stood astounded. Mother had commented about how big and strong Tailer2 is. Yet the large, loveable cat is not much of a fighter. Striker can be protective of his area but in a passive aggressive way. Yet Special, the prissy-looking white feline, purposefully challenged the infringement by an unwanted cat into the cats’ feeding area.

As I caught sight of the stray cat’s long orange tail disappearing around the corner of the garage, the verse from James 4:7 came to my mind.

Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

            Accepting the will or authority of another defines submission. Submitting to God is an act of totally embracing His will and responding immediately to His authority. The word, resist, involves the act of counteracting an opposing force. We receive strength to resist or oppose the devil only by yielding our will to fully obey God’s Word and commands. This gives us strength to withstand the archenemy of God. Paul delineates the Word of God as the sole weapon when he describes the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18, specifically verse 17. He compares the Word of God to the sword of a Roman soldier.
            Each day we can prepare for attacks from the devil by bolstering our relationship with the Lord through Bible study, prayer, and seeking to obey with all our being what we have learned from the scripture. Then when we encounter an attack from the devil, our Heavenly Father will empower us to recall and follow wholeheartedly the directives and commands of the Bible. Just like Special watched the stray cat run away, we will see the devil bolt from us because of the power of His Word and the strength it gives. The devil departs from us for a season, waiting for another opportunity to wage a bout against us. Each time the strategy from James 4:7 will counteract his temptation.

Afterthought- Special is one of the smaller farm cats and doesn't look strong. Yet the stray cat escaped by the shortest route he could find.
Some of the strongest Christians appear weak, fraught with illness and adversity, but the tenacious way they cling to the Word, ingesting it and meditating on it throughout the day, makes them unbelievably strong. Only the strength of the Lord can empower those believers that we so admire to remain stalwart in Him day in and day out, through the hardships of life. 
The Amplified Bible describes aptly that weak-appearing godly person in Proverbs 28:1b - 

...but the (uncompromisingly) righteous are bold as a lion.

Lord, may we draw strength from You to withstand the devil. Enable us to store Your Word in our hearts and bring those verses to our memory at exactly the time we need to combat the devil.

Almost One Hundred Years Ago - Flu Was Big News

Our present flu outbreak of Type A H3N2 flu brought back memories of my grandfather's experience with the Spanish flu (Type A H1N1) during World War I. History records more soldiers died from the flu than enemy combat during the Great War. This post originally was published in November of 2014 when ebola was such a concern.

The November That Calvin Callcayah Smith Was Left to Die

                Calvin Callcayah Smith, my maternal grandfather, was inducted into the United States Army on July 22, 1918. Grandfather was based at Fort Snelling located in the Minnesota state capital.

                Just four months later as he served as a medic, the Spanish flu ravaged the military community of Fort Snelling, as well as the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. According to the National Institute of Health website (nih.gov), the influenza received its name because Spain was the first country acknowledging publicly the presence of the highly contagious disease.

                By October 1918, the Spanish flu was in full sway with over 500 cases at Fort Snelling alone. St. Paul city leaders closed most public buildings for around 10 days in early November. By January 1919, when the city epidemic had run its course, over 600 people had died.

                Grandpa trained and served as a medic, which may explain how he contracted the deadly flu since influenza vaccinations were not given in 1918. Just weeks before he died at age 88 in 1982, he told my mother of how he was placed in the area of the military hospital designated for those who had no chance of survival. He was put with other military personnel  whom the doctors knew were going to die. Miraculously, Grandpa survived and had a doctor tell him that, in his opinion as a physician, he credited the fact that Grandpa had not smoked with enabling him to live and not die like others around him. My family credits God’s intervention on Grandpa’s behalf even though he would not choose to enter into a relationship with God through Jesus until around fifteen years later.

                My grandfather remained in St. Paul, until July 31, 1919, barely a month after World War I ended. He thoroughly enjoyed himself while in Minnesota. He enjoyed winter parties on the frozen lakes in the area, telling Mother of the lakes being frozen so solid and thick that vehicles could be driven on them and bonfires could be built on them as well.

                Just about ten years ago, over twenty years after Grandpa’s death, I had a woman upon meeting me and learning who my grandfather was, remark to me, “Your grandfather was a very handsome man.” In his one and only recounting to my mother of this time in his life, he mentioned a vaudeville actress with whom he socialized. Marguerite Nelson performed regularly at the Strahn Theater in St. Paul. While in the Twin City region, he also met Hildegard Malone, the daughter of the owner of Red Wing Distilleries of Minneapolis. During the evening not long before his death, he explained to Mother that Hildegard’s father, a millionaire living in Minneapolis, offered him a position if he would remain in Minnesota. Grandpa told my mother that he wanted to come home to Oklahoma, so declined the job offer.

                Grandpa returned to Oklahoma, content to leave what appeared to be a lucrative opportunity behind in the land of 10,000 lakes. His love for family and deep bond with the Oklahoma lifestyle trumped money, high society, and all of its frills.  Reviewing family stories often reveals how ONE simple choice can change the course of a family's history.

Calvin Callcayah Smith on the right with two of his buddies in Minnesota.

Clothespins and Commitments

Musings Over Clothespins

Mother produced a plastic bag with the several individual wooden clamps separated from the coil springs of a typical clothespin. Since we continue to use a clothesline in the backyard for drying laundry, these coil spring clothespins needed to be reassembled.

I relish mindless tasks. Since I had a few minutes between writing jobs, I sat down with the dismembered clothespins. I began matching the wooden clamps as closely as I could. The next step required a bit more manual dexterity as I used the spring coil to join the wooden clamps.

Maybe I was thinking about which direction to go for the blog posting before Valentine’s Day. I had planned a family history story but had been unable to locate the picture I thought we had. Perhaps my mind was considering fleetingly a posting about the holiday of February set aside to celebrate love and commitment. With those thoughts in mind, I began the clothespin reunification process.

As I picked up a couple of wooden clamps, I gazed at them and thought There are some differences in these two clamps. One of the wooden clamps had a chunk out of its top. Both wooden clamps had some discolorations and wear and tear especially on the inside. 

With pins in hand, my reflections commenced. People enter relationships with inner hurts, whether due to a barely perceptible rejection, an outright rebuff, or debilitating self-deprecation. Sometimes as humans, over time, we get over the rejections and rebuffs in our past a little easier.

Often self-deprecation is another story. As I thought of harmful self-criticism, a portion of Revelation 12:10 came to mind,

For the accuser of our [believing] brothers and sisters

has been thrown down [at last], he who accuses them and keeps bringing charges [of sinful behavior] against them before our God day and night.

What a wonderful prophetic promise to believers in Jesus! Satan will be thrown down so he will no more be able to torment us with his groundless accusations. 
         Paul told us that we can live in victory each day when we meditate on the principle he recorded in Colossians 2:14, as it appears in The Message, a modern translation,

Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean,

that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross.

Based on the two passages above, those of us who know we have sought forgiveness from Jesus, can identify shame as a glaring onslaught of Satan. As he characteristically does, Satan casts doubt on what God says and does. When we “bite” on Satan’s attempt to shame us, we “buy into” his denial of God’s forgiveness and ultimately, fail to take God at His Word.

Marriage joins two flawed people by a commitment. Jesus identifies God as the joiner of the two when He said, “What God has joined together, let not man separate.”  The spring coil represents the commitment vowed before God. The promise to uphold God’s design unites a husband and wife just as the spring coil joins two wooded clamps. Only the Heavenly Father can take a flawed man and a flawed woman, put them together, with the bond of marital commitment. 

The bond of marriage will present times of constraint, the stress of staying within the commitment. Think about when the clothespin is used for its designed purpose  - the wooden clamps have more stress placed upon them both. Hanging up a dainty dishtowel doesn’t apply as much stress, but securing a heavy wet blanket, just removed from the washing machine, stretches the little wooden clothespin to its maximum. In this same way, marriages will be pushed to the ultimate level of commitment during times of tragedy, loss, critical illness, and crisis. Only the couple’s commitment to submit to God and each other to work together will enable the two to successfully navigate the season of adversity.

Finally, some of my dearest friends have said “good-bye” to the man to whom they were married for over 50 years. They have suddenly found that “flawed other clamp” ripped apart from them. What message is available for these grieving women? God aligns Himself as the perfect wooden clamp and holds the widow close to Himself. 

Here are three verses of comfort and promise:

…Protector of widows is God in His holy habitation. Psalm 68:5

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

For your Maker is your husband – the LORD Almighty is His name – the Holy One of Israel is Your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth. Isaiah 54:5

        Lord, thank You for Your mystically beautiful plan for marital relationships. Please enable us as Your followers to actively promote lifelong bonds that please You and further Your powerful influence in our world.

Making Sure They Eat in Peace

Our Cats Had to Be Able to Eat

                Each morning I follow the pattern set by Edmund Gates, Jr., my father. My first task of the morning almost always finds me putting out food for the farm cats.

                Dad had about three old metal ice trays into which he put scraps for the cats. He finally, several years before his death, elected to purchase commercial food for the farm felines. His conservative side struggled some with this decision. Yet his younger daughter’s lifelong commitment to high-quality care of her cats spurred him to feed the cats “a little higher on the hog” than he normally had. After all, in Dad's mind, if rodent control fueled the primary reason for keeping cats on the farm, why buy food? 

Cats eating at the old metal ice trays that Dad used.

                Some mornings, after I began feeding the cats following Dad’s stroke, I would hear low grumblings coming from the several cats eating from the repurposed ice trays. I decided to deviate from Dad’s procedure.

                I had a wonderfully-designed vintage Tupperware container with six veggies/fruit compartments encircling a center spot for dip. Sadly, the lid had met with disaster. Rather than discard the lidless tray that was unfit for storing or transporting food, I took it as a more equitable feeding bowl for the cats.

Baby Boy with his ritual of standing up on my leg.
The repurposed Tupperware container is visible.

                Most mornings, the repurposed Tupperware container solved the eating turmoil and disagreements. Then the stray tomcat appeared. He wreaked havoc on the morning meals for our farm cats.

                The only solution seemed to be my lingering around as they ate. My presence kept the stray, domineering cat from scattering our cats and devouring their food.

                One morning as I observed them nourishing themselves in peace, I thought how much like our farm cats we believers in Jesus are. The Scripture in I Peter 5:8 says, “Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” The devil seeks to upset the children of God just like the stray cat brought unrest at cat feeding time.

                Yet I am reminded in the rhetorical question from Psalm 139:7, “Where can I go from Your presence?” The understood answer being “Nowhere.”

Cats Eating at the repurposed Tupperware container.

                The explicit implication is that God is with us. Isaiah 41:10 indicates that if God is our God, He is with us. What comfort this verse provides!

Do not fear, for I am with you;

Do not be afraid, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you; I will help you;

I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.

               

                In no way do I intend to liken myself to our all-powerful God, but the cats could eat in peace if I stood with them providing my protecting presence for them. However, when I moved into the house, if they had not finished eating, their insecurity returned. Unlike God, I do not have the capability to be with the farm cats continually. As children of God - ones who have acknowledged their wrongdoing and embraced Jesus as the only way of forgiveness - we serve a powerful God who guarantees His almighty, abiding presence with each of His children always. Let's rest in His presence and experience His peace.