Two Visitors

I received the call from my wife after spending most of the morning running errands. She wanted to know how far away I was. I was actually less than a mile. She responded disappointedly, “Oh”. I didn’t know what to think. Was she disappointed that I was coming home? In reality, she was hoping that I was still near a store. As many in the county know, that living in Belleview is a scenic 15 minute drive for us to get to the store. I had been running all over northern Calhoun County for approximately three hours, I was ready to get home. I asked her as any loving husband would, “Is the item important?” The item she needed was a bit unusual. I am hard of hearing. I had to turn the volume on my phone to the max, turn off the air condition, turn down the radio, pull over to the side of the road to reduce the engine noise, and turn up the hearing aid to make sure that I was hearing her clearly. Cat food? Was there some old wives tale that I did not know that involved cat food? Did she come across an excellent can’t miss Sunday School lesson or Children’s Church lesson that involved….cat food? I did not know what to make of this request. I only prayed that it was not what I was having for lunch. “Come on home, don’t worry about it”, she said after a long pause. I was only a half mile from home. I pulled back onto the road and within mere seconds, I was home. She was at the back door standing on the patio looking out into the yard. I glanced towards the direction where she was staring and saw nothing. She solemnly promised that they were just at the back door seconds ago. I wandered around the yard and as I rounded a corner of the shed, I saw them. There were two of them. They were not much bigger than the palm of my hand. I gingerly picked one up and after a brief chase; I finally was able to scoop the other one. I carefully clutched them tight to my chest. As I sat down, I looked into the soft blue eyes of one of the kittens that had wandered in from the wooded bluffs. Their body seemed thin and frail. Their fur was matted and in tangles. A dirty crust had formed in the corner of their eyes. April had pulled a bowl from the cupboard and poured a splash of milk and placed it on the porch. I asked for a few slices of lunch meat and we fed them. They seemed content with the meager meal we had provided for them. We offered a few more pieces of lunch meat and they happily accepted. They showed their gratitude by stroking their head on my bended knee. Our children seemed genuinely excited by these new visitors in our home. I cleaned them up, made them a comfortable bedding area, offered more milk and welcomed them to their new home. As I reflected on this, I learned a lesson. Much like those kittens, our spiritual state is tangled, matted, and dirty. We have ventured in the wooded wilderness for so long, we are ready for some comforting rest. Our wandering has exhausted our joy and happiness and robbed us of peace and assurance. Jesus says, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest". (Matthew 11:28) He has what you need.