Volume 28, No. 26
July 20, 2003                       

Playing Cat and Mouse
 
   Patches the cat has had her fair share of run-ins with rodents, but it’s not a grudge she’s nursing these days.

   In Cranbrook, British Columbia, one of Irene Weller’s daughters found some baby mice in a nest and took them home.  No fan of rodents, Irene insisted they be thrown outside.  But next morning, the mice were back in the house, snuggled in with Patches and her litter of seven-week-old kittens.  The cat had rescued and adopted the two mice and is now feeding them her milk.

   In fact, she’s very protective of her new charges.  When the Weller kids took the babies from Patches briefly, the cat got very upset.  “All she wanted to do was lick the mice,” said Irene.  “When we put them back in the bed, Patches calmed right down.”

   Wildlife biologist Bob Forbes isn’t surprised.  “I’ve seen a dog nursing squirrels and I’ve seen documentation of lions nursing wildebeest calves.”  But there’s rarely a happy ending.  “The milk is not compatible so the animal being nursed won’t thrive,” says Forbes.  In most cases, the mother eventually loses interest in the unusual offspring which usually wander off and die.  Ominously, the biologist adds, “The kittens might have something to play with in a week.”

   There’s a big lesson in this story for Christians tempted to get too comfortable with the world, which happens most easily when we’re emotionally vulnerable.  In a relationship with any church, no matter how supportive and well-meaning, it’s only a matter of time before some situation leaves us hurt, disappointed and isolated.  More often
than not, when we feel left all on our own it’s because we’ve withdrawn, not because we’ve been abandoned, but that doesn’t make the loneliness any easier to take.  So we go looking for comfort.

   Many times we find it in the most unlikely places among the most improbable people.  When we’re angry with God and his church, we’re much more prone to downplay the differences between those who follow Jesus and those who don’t.  All of a sudden, Christians don’t look that good — and others don’t look that bad, especially if they’re ready to embrace us when we can’t, or won’t, get our support from the spiritual family we’ve counted on in the past.  

   Just remember that sometimes when we’re taken in, we’re taken in, in more ways than one.  At first, fundamental differences in values and behaviour may not loom large.  People will accept us, even pamper us when we’re in a bad way.  But ultimately, what they can offer a weakened soul won’t be enough to nurture us because it’s just not compatible with our spiritual nature.  With a steady diet of secular self-absorption that leaves out God, we can survive, but not thrive.  
 
  As it becomes increasingly clear who and what we are, one of two things will happen.  Either we’ll tire of trying to be something we’re not, or those who ignored the crucial differences at first will finally recognize them and lose interest in us, leaving us truly abandoned.  In some cases, the growing awareness that our deep-seated Christian values will never let us conform to their expectations will cause them to turn on us in ways that, at one time, would’ve been unimaginable.  Sometimes they’ll just toy with us, playing cat and mouse with our feelings and affections.  Sometimes they’ll try to destroy us.

   The good news is, God never abandons us, and neither do his followers when they’re serious about living a life of love.  You’ll never be forced to seek solace and support from people who can’t hope to really understand you.  There’s always somebody who cares.  

   So next time you’re feeling very alone, recognize you’ve been snatched away, or you’ve walked away.  Then reconnect. Stay true to who you are with people who share your dreams and identity, however imperfectly.  If you let the world nurse you along, don’t be surprised if it’s just fattening you up for the kill.

By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the Followers of Christ congregation in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.  To subscribe, contact sgamble@bfree.on.ca