Which Came First, Fin or the Egg.

CONTENT WARNING: Crazy Cat Stuff. My daughter, Alli, is a bit of a crazy cat lady. She only has one cat, Moshka, a rescue. (some of you may remember Moshka. She showed up on my porch and I posted her picture frequently on Facebook trying to get her back home or to a new home. She even went to the Smith County Animal Clinic to be rehomed. Fortunately for her, her new home was my daughter and her husband. They loved her, spoil her and she even has her own bedroom. I would say she leveled up for a street cat. Alli is always sending me cool things to try for Fin that she has done for Moshka, like the T-shirt covered box with a hole for a little place to hide. Moshka loves hers, Fin could care less.  Every cool, water fountain, backpack carrier, toy, whatever, Moshka gets, we try and Fin blows it off. Maybe it is the puppy in his puppycatness. 

Our recent trial run was the "egg experiment." (see photo below.) Apparently the new trend is to give a cat an egg and watch the care for it because the instinctively knows it is fragile. And of course, Moshka flew through the test with flying colors. Alli encouraged me to try Fin. And I did. See the photos below. First Fin smells it, taps it with his paw and makes it roll, comes at it from a different angle, sniffing and then literally walks away. No nurturing there. At. All. But that is Fin.

Fin is feisty. He is only cuddly with me and only when he wants to be which is usually when I am asleep. Fin stalks me during workouts and attacks my feet, jumps and grabs my arm and leaves marks with his claws. Our good friend and equally amazing veterinarian, Lindsey Dixon, told us it is because Fin was a bottle baby and was not nurtured, like the egg, by his mother. He didn't learn how to be sweet and nurturing from his mama and in turn doesn't know how to act that way with other things. He is not totally without a soul. He will lick his puppy sisters sometimes but I really think it is because he is trying to clean them up, though.

Learning to nurture from our parents is a "god-thing." God IS love, holy love,  and love is a lot of concepts packaged together. Cuddles, yes, but also, nurturing, guiding, letting justice for us run its course, all the while healing with rivers of mercy and grace. Holy love means we are careful with others when they are fragile and tough when they need accountability. 

In what condition does someone arrive when they have not had this kind of love in their life. Maybe their parents left them in a field at a day old like Fin, Maybe their parent didn't have a parent to love them either and they just didn't learn. 

As I study, I am rejecting the notion to draw to the book of Numbers where it is written that God is slow to anger, abounds in love and forgiveness of sin, but consequences are consequences and will pass down for generations to come. I reject meditating on that passage because I struggle with the thought that God may hold me accountable for my parents and grandparents lack of repentance. But in light of the egg experiment, I realize that I don't hold those consequences but I didn't receive what I needed and repeat what I know and didn't learn, just like Fin. 

Maybe that's why there are people in the world that just love to hate. Is this where the reputation of the sins of our fathers com from? We didn't learn. How as a society do we break that generational curse. we love beyond our circle. As followers of Christ, we are collect love God and love others. The word is "agape," holy, unmerited, pure love. Love that is slow to anger, abounds in forgiveness and mercy and is for others (read all.) "But, Monica, some people don't want my love, they are mean, hateful, unloveable." No-one is unloveable, they just don't know love. Introduce them, love them anyway. The best way to kill an enemy is to make them a friend. Love beyond the people you made or gather. Love outside that circle you have created. Love them like cats love eggs (maybe not like Fin, but more like Moshka.)

Today:

❤️ Just love

✌🏽 That's enough