The Easy Way In

I was busy in the living room when I heard one of the cats at the sliding kitchen door. Trying to weasel it open enough to slip through into the kitchen. 

Indy has devised a way to do it. She lies on her side at full stretch, while her front paws wrap round the edge of the door and slide it open a bit more. Amelie has not yet mastered this technique and usually I go to her aid. But this morning I left her to her own devices. And after a lot of rattling and bumping, she was in. Not sure how she did it, but she figured out a way to get in the door.

Butterflies who are helped out of their cocoons die, because they haven’t gained the strength needed to survive, while breaking out of the cosy cocoon.  Killed with kindness.

Sometimes I feel that my prayers are unanswered. I persevere, trying a new tack, thinking of new ways to persuade my heavenly Father. I come back to God again and again. I think about the problem. I bring it to Jesus. I struggle. I wait. I repeat the process.

I think perhaps God leaves us to struggle sometimes, knowing that in the struggling our spiritual strength grows. In the struggling, our relationship with Him deepens as we return to him again and again. It is through the struggling that we often gain entry into that next level of intimacy with God.

None of us enjoys the struggle, and we’d probably all like things to happen the easy way. But the easy way is not always the best way.

Amelie gained access to the kitchen through her own efforts this morning. No amount of struggling could enable us to gain access to God - only Jesus.