Grace is not a particularly new word for me, just a new meaning for the year 2005. I grew up with lots of "graces". I have a cousin named Grace. I was familiar with Grace Kelly who became the Princess of Monaco. Then there's the grace that one says before one eats. And finally, growing up with my grandmother, I knew something about aging gracefully. For me, grace became all these. One particular summer, when I was just a gawky, insecure, pre-teen trying to find my "wings", I met a cat. Or should I say, a stray cat came to me. And for him--it was a he--it was love at first bite! I wasn't very keen on this cat. Maybe because I once read a saying that went, "Dogs loyally become your best friend, horses do your bidding, but cats, well, cats simply tolerate us." In my mind, that was just the way cats were -- they do what they do and they do what they want. Most cats that I had encountered never came unless they were ready for lunch, or dinner, and even breakfast! What surprised me about this particular cat, however, was that for some reason, it followed me wherever I went. It became a stress buster because it was the first being to greet me when I got home from school and became the last to bid goodbye with his soft "meow" every time I left the house for school or some other activity that pre-teens had. A cat that was majestic in its thinking would not humbly bow down to a mere human! But this one did. And so began a new definition of the word grace for me. For some reason that I couldn't see this cat saw something in me and actually liked being with me. Slowly the cat showed me that I was lovable and capable. Even if at that time I never thought that an ugly duckling could really become a swan, the cat already saw that I WAS a swan. Or maybe I was just fooling myself. Maybe it saw me as chicken for lunch, and that would explain why it was always hanging around. In any case, it seemed to care. Years later, the cat left me. By then, I had begun to see a bigger picture of a greater grace behind what my cat had shown me. A picture of a Great Creator who simply used a cat to show me what His love and grace were all about. He simply spoke in a language I would understand at that time. It was really He who showed me that I was lovable and capable just the way He made me. Slowly, I began to see myself through His eyes. That is the amazing thing about love, it changes us. Most people would say New Year is about change, and New Year's resolutions. There are times we become frustrated because we don't seem to be changing: vows get broken and resolutions un-kept. So we try harder. | | One particular movie comes to mind when I think of this. It was the movie "As Good As It Gets. " Jack Nicholson's character (Melvin Udall) launches into this monologue declaring his love for Helen Hunt's character (Carol Connely).
Melvin Udall : I've got a really great compliment for you, and it's true. Carol Connelly : I'm so afraid you're about to say something awful. Melvin Udall : Don't be pessimistic, it's not your style. Okay, here I go: Clearly, a mistake. I've got this, what - ailment? My doctor, a shrink that I used to go to all the time, he says that in fifty or sixty percent of cases, a pill really helps. I *hate* pills, very dangerous thing, pills. Hate. I'm using the word "hate" here, about pills. Hate. My compliment is, that night when you came over and told me that you would never... well, you were there, you know what you said. Well, my compliment to you is, the next morning, I started taking the pills. Carol Connelly : I don't quite get how that's a compliment for me. Melvin Udall : You make me want to be a better man. | What did the cat -- and God -- teach me? I realized that the truth of it all is that you and I are not changed because we love but we are changed because we are loved. Simply put, it is His love that changes us. The past year has been a story of grace; the New Year will be a story of even more grace. It always is. Grace is kindness undeserved. And this is the important thing I learned from a cat. Come to think of it, I never gave him a name. Although it's a he, I think I'll call him Grace. Charity Oh is a medical technologist by training and a perpetual student of life by calling -- tasting its slices one bite at a time. Email comments and reactions to lifelets@crossroad77.com media source: www.romancats.de |
