My sweet girl, Abigail, gives new meaning to the word tenacious! Merriam-Webster defines tenacious as seeking something valued or desired. Oh ya, that’s my girl! She is the most tenacious cat alive!
We live in a 91 year old house. If the walls and cupboards could talk! 91 years of smells, mice, people, and pets. Outside our bathroom door is a little hallway with a closet on one side and cupboards on the other. Abigail loves to come into the bathroom while we are in there – she is usually jonesing for some love, attention, or the sacred food! Yes, she is just like her momma! As I stand in the bathroom getting ready each morning, she comes in rubbing all over my legs and talking to me! It really is very sweet… unless I am wearing black pants! One more thing you should know about Abigail is that she does not like to be closed out of any room. She is basically the queen of the palace and likes to have full access 24/7! I know what you are thinking…. oh, she is so spoiled! Yep… I’d have to agree! Good thing I never had my own kids or they’d be spoiled rotten!
Recently, Miss Abigail has found a new spot she “needs to be in.” The cupboards along the little hallway outside the bathroom, hold all of our towels and bedding. Oh how she’d love to get in there and just find a nice cozy spot to sleep all day! She loves clean towels and has since she was very young. A new addition to her morning routine is to sniff the cupboards, meow and chatter, paw at the doors, and eventually try to claw at them. She wants in! Being the pushover I am, I usually give in to her whims… but not this one! Who wants to get out of the shower to a cat hair laced towel? Day after day I tell her NO and wait for her to retreat in utter defeat. The look of confusion on her face is priceless! Momma always opens things for me! Nope… not giving in to this one! As I watch and talk to her day after day, I have realized that she is full of tenacity. She wants into that cupboard BAD, and will go to any length to get there. She is trying to wear me down! “If I just keep coming back, I might catch her in a weak moment… and viola! I’m in!”
As I began to ponder this great tenacity that my cat is displaying, it made me think about myself. If a cat can be tenacious, can I? Am I tenacious about anything in my life… anything positive, that is? I thought about Abigail coming to me every morning, without fail, and asking over and over to get into the cupboard. She wants something and she is on a mission to get it… that’s tenacity. I thought about my morning routines. I get up early, fix a yummy cup of hot coffee, gather my bible, journal, and books, and find my quiet corner of the world to begin my day. I am tenacious about my time in the morning. Then I began to dig a little deeper. What am I seeking out in my early morning quiet time? I used to pop onto FB for just a few minutes… and we all know that a few minutes on FB is… well, not the same as real world time! This month I’ve taken to writing early in the morning and reading a book that I’m working through, with sporadic time in the Bible and prayer.
Then it dawned on me! I need to be tenaciously seeking entrance to the throne room of God… or the cupboard in Abigail’s world. If I had half the tenacity that she has, I would run to the cupboard every day and He would open it up! I have full access and don’t even have to beg! He actually leaves the cupboard open with fresh towels waiting for me to rest on! Viola! I’m in! And once in, it only gets better from there! For Abigail, the cupboard opens up 91 years of mouse smells and who knows what else! Heaven! For me, it opens up the throne room of grace, love, and acceptance… unconditional! I don’t have to be noisy and ask over and over for my heavenly papa to open up the door… He has never closed it… and never will.
Thoughts and Reflections on Life 