Velcro

Last week was sad for the Greene family.  One of our little cats, Velcro, left this world.  We had owned her for 15 years and she had been a part of the family as we lived in the Montgomery area and in the Florida panhandle.  When I laid her to rest I told God "She was a good cat ... I know you will take care of her better than we did ... thanks for letting us share life with her."

You might ask, "How did she get her name?"  It was pretty simple.  When she was a baby she was clingy and when you tried to put her down her little claws would grab your shirt like Velcro.  Either my daughter or my son (can't remember which) said, she is Velcro.  The name (and the cat) stuck. She was named for what she did.

Thinking about this got me kind of edgy.  We named Velcro for how she did life.  If God gave me a name, what would it be?  I shudder to think about all the negative possibilities.  But there is (as usual) a good story to understand that God sees us not as we are but as He can transform us.  In Judges 6:12 we find Gideon hunkering down in a wine press.  He is threshing wheat to keep it from the Midianites.  God sees him hiding, operating in secret, scurrying through the shadows and keeping a low profile.  How does God address him?  "The Lord is with you mighty warrior!"  He is not doing warrior things and raising his sword against the enemy ... he is in hiding.  Yet God sees something in him that calls him to 1) view himself differently, 2) see a vision for his people and 3) leave the threshing floor and go into battle to defeat the enemy.

I like this story!  I am glad God sees what I can be and leads me to what the song calls "Higher Ground."  I know Velcro has reached that higher ground (whatever heaven holds for a little cat).  And I am glad God doesn't label me for what I am but for what He can make me.  Pastor Randy