Devotion: Cats and Christmas Cookies (His Encouragement)

This post is part of the weekly series, “His Encouragement: Thursday Thoughts to Strengthen Your Soul.” 

Image: A woman holds a cup of tea and reads her Bible. Black text on a green background reads, “Weekly Devotion: His Encouragement- Words from Scripture to Strengthen Your Soul.”

 

Bible Verse:

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

-James 5:7-8, NIV

Waiting for Cookies  

If you know me, you know that I am not a patient person. I’m terrible at waiting in lines and I always carry a book with me when I’m out in case I need to wait anywhere (For this reason, I’m so glad my iPhone can fit countless books!).

The above photo shows a picture of my cat. He is a large grey cat. He is eighteen years old and weighs over fifteen pounds. Just like me, he is also not a patient person. When he is frustrated or doesn’t get what he wants, he howls so loudly that his cries fill the entire house. In the morning when he is ready for breakfast, he will howl until I come downstairs and feed him.

My cat and I both love cookies. He’s not supposed to have them because he is a cat and people food is not good for him.  My cat’s lack of patience and his voracious appetite almost caused a disaster last weekend.

 

An Impatient and Hungry Cat

Last Saturday, I spent all day making Christmas cookies while my cat and dog watched my every move. They were eagerly waiting for me to drop something on the floor. I made tons of cookies so that we would be certain to have enough for the Christmas party that we are throwing next week.

My furry babies were disappointed that I didn’t drop any cookies, but the cat was not deterred. As I washed the dishes in the sink, my sneaky boy leaped silently up onto a chair and prepared to make a daring leap up on to the table. If he would have jumped, he would have landed right in the middle of a table that was entirely covered with over one hundred fresh cookies that I had left out to cool!

 

A Near Cookie Disaster

My husband saw what was happening just as my cat arched his back and prepared to jump.

“No! Stop!” he cried as he kicked the chair out from underneath the cat. “Don’t even think about it!”

My agile cat landed safely on his feet and glared at Jeff.

“No cookies for you!” said Jeff. “That would have been a disaster! In fact, no cookies for any of us! We have to save this cookies so that we will have enough for the party.”

 

Waiting for Christmas

Although it was amusing to watch my husband lecture the cat, I will admit that I have not been able to leave my hands off of the Christmas cookies. Although the party is only a few days away, it feels like an eternity. Although I know the day of the party will come and I will be able to eat cookies until my heart’s content, I have such a hard time waiting.

I’ve been eating cookies all week. This evening after dinner, my husband saw me open one of the large Tupperware containers that contained the Peanut Blossoms.

“There seem to be a lot less cookies in there than there were earlier this week,” he said with a grin.

“There will still be enough for the party.” I replied. “I made tons!”

“Well, you know,” said Jeff, “I just hope there are enough meatballs.”

“Why wouldn’t there be enough meatballs?” I asked. “I spent all evening yesterday making over fifteen pounds of meatballs!”

Jeff laughed. “Because,” he said, “While you’ve been eating the cookies, I’ve been eating the meatballs!”

 

Waiting for a the Second Coming

Waiting is hard. Even our pets have a hard time waiting. In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he writes that “the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time,” as it waits for the return of Jesus (Romans 8:22).

It can feel as if we have been waiting forever, but our time is not God’s time. We must never give up hope. No one knows when Christ will come again, but we do know that he will return someday to judge the living and the dead.

The whole world is waiting. My hope for you, this Advent time and always, is that your waiting time should be full of love, family, cookies, and the peace of Christ.

 

Merry (Almost) Christmas!

-Rev. Rebecca

 

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This post is part of the series, “His Encouragement: Thursday Thoughts to Strengthen Your Soul.”

Now, it’s your turn! What Scripture verse is inspiring you this week? Let me know in the comments below!

Thursdays are always a really long day of the week for me. As a pastor, Sunday feels like the natural beginning of my week. By the time I get to Thursday, I am tired and drained. That’s why I’m excited to join with a group of blogging friends in order to offer you a weekly devotional which will be posted every Thursday.

Please be sure to check out the other great bloggers involved in the His Encouragement weekly series!