At Bible study the other day, we shared among ourselves the ways we heard God's voice. Most of the women shared, but I sat there without speaking. I wasn't sure how to explain how I heard God. Thankfully, I didn't have to because one of the ladies did it for me. "Jan, I love the way you speak in parables. You make things of God so clear through your stories." Say what? She blew me away. I had never thought about my writing or speaking being a form of parable.
Parables, as I understand them, are earthly stories with heavenly meanings. I guess I tend to write and speak that way because that is how God speaks to me. Today was a perfect example. At a prayer meeting this morning, while we were praying for parents in our community, I thought about my cat Licorice moving her kittens out of my closet and settling them under my bed. One thought led to another.
I thought about Licorice's concern for the safety of her litter. She didn't like the "world" intruding and handling her little ones. They weren't mature enough for that, so she moved them to a safer place. They had no choice in the matter. Now, if I want to see them I have to lie flat on my stomach, pick up the dust ruffle, and peer into the dark corner between the wall and the night stand. As I peer, Licorice places her paws over the kittens, talks to me, and purrs.
Licorice's purr is so loud at times that I can almost feel it. I know the kittens have felt and heard that comforting sound since before they were born. And, oh how mama talks. Soft, purring meows answer the kittens when they cry. The same soft, purring meows sing to them while they nurse.
In time, Licorice's kittens will leave the protection of my dust ruffle and their mother. They will learn to drink and eat on their own. They will learn to hunt. Once they are grown, they will never again have the same relationship with Licorice that they will have during the next few months. They will be on their own
All these earthly thoughts slowly led me to heavenly ones.
Right after my husband went to jail, I knew God was removing me from the church I had been attending and moving me to a different one, one where I knew no one except my son and his family, and no one knew me either. I was no longer in the world I had known and felt threatened by. Instead, God had moved me to place he could provide what I needed. God met me there in ways I could have never imagined. Through new praise music he sang to me. Through sermons, he nourished me. Through Celebrate Recovery and Bible studies, he spoke to me. And through new friends, he purred to me.
This parable God gave me today isn't just for me or about me. I think it is a parable for all of us. God wants us safe and secure in his arms. Even more than Licorice did, He will do whatever is necessary to keep us safe. Sometimes he will move us even when we don't want to move, but he always takes us to that place where He can talk to us, sing to us, and nourish us. He wants us where the noise of world won't drown out his answer when we cry.
This isn't only a "when I'm in need" type of experience. Every day the Lord wants to carry us out of the noisy world for awhile so he can provide as only a loving father can. He will provide a place a peace and quiet, and a place we can hear the soft rumble of his voice as he sings, speaks, and nourishes us. Will we go?
Desiring the rumble of his voice,
Jan
My daughter and granddaughter loved on the kittens this afternoon. We'll see what Licorice thinks about that. She did stay right by them and got oodles of lovin' herself. Hope she doesn't move them now. Stay tuned for the next episode of Life with Licorice.
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