The Prayer Journey
The Awesome Insignificance of Love
Photo By: Flickr/adrigu
“Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love.” (1John 4:8 NIV)
Sometimes we have mental epiphanies that come like a dousing of cold water. One such mind-boggling realization came to me in an unexpected way—petting my little six-pound rescue cat. Let me explain. I am not—or was not—a cat person. I didn’t like cats. Give me a dog any day over the feline of God’s critters. That is, I wasn’t until a certain scrawny stray black cat appeared one day and insisted on following my dog and me on our daily walk every day for two weeks. Not only did this meowing little creature follow us as we made our three-quarters-of-a-mile walk, she made repeated attempts to leap into my arms, or, when I sat on the porch, tried to crawl onto my lap and snuggle.
Needless to say, after another week of this emotional nagging, I adopted a stray black cat with beautiful green eyes. Or, rather, a stray black cat with beautiful green eyes adopted me. Whatever, I now have a rescue dog and a rescue kitty. The latter lavishes more unadulterated love on me than I’d ever experienced before.
The epiphany? If a “dumb” creature—an insignificant stray cat, of which the world seems to have too many—can love that simply and purely and whole-heartedly, how much more can a human being love? Human beings, made in the image and likeness of God, should be able to change the course of mighty rivers with their love. If a tiny scrap-of-a-kitten is capable of so much tenderness and adulation, how much more sensitivity and awe can a human being produce? My little cat has taught me more about the power and awesomeness of love than anything I’ve read or seen in all my years on this Earth. Verses like “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1Corinthians 13:13 NIV) seem crystal-clear now. Love is overwhelming; remarkable; breathtaking; incredible; extraordinary. Love is one big WOW.
We all need to start loving like little stray kittens. Wouldn’t that knock the world off its axis!
“God made…all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:25 NIV)
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About the Author
Born and raised in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, Theresa spent the first nine years of her life on an island in Puget Sound. With no neighborhood children nearby, she depended on imaginary people to keep her company—thus her love of books.
Theresa attended the University of Washington, received a B.A. in English, and spent the next twenty-plus years teaching middle school language arts and social studies before retiring "early." Now she is happy to indulge her wild imagination and passionate love of history and share these foibles with others, including her husband, her humongous family, a rescue pup named Molly, and a myriad of friends. Theresa is the author of over twenty cozy mysteries, warm romances, and YA fiction.
Theresa has made her home in Washington, Missouri, Georgia, and North Carolina but currently resides in South Carolina. An avid traveler, she likes poking her nose into strange and mysterious places.
Visit her website: booksbytheresajgarrido.com
