Lucky doesn't understand boundaries. He is getting worse than ever in his old age. He paces the house and stops every minute or so in front of me. Then he stuffs his nose against my computer on my lap. He knows if he tips it, he will get a response from me. The first few (thousand) times in the day he does this, I pet him, tell him how wonderful he is, and then go back to my work. This is not sufficient for Lucky. He spends the whole day pestering me, with his unending reservoir of need.
Lately, I don't tolerate it. I stick my leg out and won't let him come close after he has had a good dose of petting. Enough is enough. At some point, it has got to stop. He is intruding on my space and time in a way that is not healthy, not for him or for me.
It is not that I don't
understand his obsession. I, too, relish constant reassurance that I am loved, that I am still worthy of attention. Am I being un-Godly in shoving Lucky away? I was considering that this morning and decided,
no. None of us should seek our sufficiency or worth through others. It is intrinsic, bestowed upon us by God. The only security of our worth that we need to turn to continually is God Himself. When we allow others to believe that their worth is dependent on us, or anything other than God, we are doing them no favors. Babies and children are a different matter -- parents are very critical in helping children form concepts of self worth. In this post, my thoughts are directed more to adults. But even in the case of children, I believe instruction in the source of value should be directing them to their Creator. Humans will always disappoint. God never will.
It isn't as though Lucky has not had years of plenty of attention. He has. It just is never enough for him. My tough love appears to be working, though. He had not come begging to be petted by toppling my computer even once this morning, at least not for the
first five minutes! Here is the good news. God will
never tire of assuring us we are loved.
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Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
But the
Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the
Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the
Lord looks on the heart.”
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my
mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not
hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in
the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your
book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which
he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with
him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so
that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his
grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been
saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of
God,
<3
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