It was a beautiful image . . . a tiny little runt piglet curled up next to a cat.When my son Andrew sent me that picture on Easter explaining that the little piglet was born the night before and was struggling to survive, I thought, “How beautiful! This cat is sheltering and taking care of the baby pig, even though clearly it isn’t the pig’s parent.”
Andrew shared that they were having to give that piglet 1:1 care 24/7 to give it its best shot at survival. So it seemed very inspirational that the cat was all about being a shelter for the pig.
A few weeks later Andrew sent me another pic, this time of the cat with all the piglets that were born that night. I thought, “Wow! This cat is all about caring for others! We should totally learn from the cat! That will make a powerful story at some point and time.”
Then, a few texts later Andrew shared that the cat wasn’t being gracious at all. Actually, the cat was quite a predator. It had just killed a pigeon in one fail swoop. The cat was surrounding herself with the piglets because she wanted to take advantage of their heat lamp.
So . . .the cat has a little “human nature” to it after all.
Isn’t that how we function, sometimes?
We take care of things, help with situations or people, somewhere in the back of our minds calculating what we can get in return?
To live a life that is filled with peace and happiness, we must love not because of selfish gain but because we genuinely want to give ourselves to others. We must expect (nor want) anything in return. I bet when we do that wewill experience MANY mutual returns . . . but they need not be anticipated. Then, when they come, they will be even more wonderful.
That’s how Jesus lived. And Loved.
And it changed things.
We, too, can change things.
Let’s intentionally look for others we can shelter and care for, not wanting a “heat lamp” in return.
Grace & Peace,
Andrea
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