Beware Of Unusual Circumstances

Whenever something unusual happens in daily life, these are the signs that God is up to something. We must have a heightened sense of awareness of what God may want to do in these situations.
(1 Cor. 12: 7-9)

                        Desire + Action + Failure =  Discouragement
                                                        or...
                                     "God has other plans."
                              
                                          ***

April 20, 2010

My big plan today was mowing the lawn, and filling the bird feeders.
My inner feeling yesterday was that mama cat was going to give birth.
In the early morning when I fed her and Fluffy she was literally dragging the ground from the weight of the babies on each of her sides.
I got a late start yesterday to the store..so after shopping at 5 stores and getting gasoline in the car, it was dark when I got home.

I visualized Fluffy on the back porch..and my gosh...there she was; saying "Houston...we got a problem".

After unloading the the car, my mind went south and I put some food out for her. She acted like she was starving...so I closed the door and said "goodnight".

This morning after replanting a couple of houseplants, I again took food out for the cats. I hollered; "here kitty kitty kitty". Mama cat and Fluffy came running from the thicket of the field...and not the pole barn.
I petted mama cat, and could see she'd given birth. She was acting like nothing had happened. Not being familiar..at all..with cats or dogs...I was clueless. Where were her kittens?

I looked all over the pole barn...and found nothing. I asked them to show me the babies, and Fluffy led me to the thicket which had her attention more than mama cat. I followed her as far as I could but she went in deep where I could not go. After much time of searching, I stopped. There comes a time...when you just gotta stop.

Now...to mow the lawn...just like riding a bike. I got on the mower, and the motor would not turn over. Like many times before I prayed for this temperamental piece of equipment. It started up. I backed it out of the pole barn, and realized I needed to move a big bunch of boards before I could begin. I turned the key off. James had placed walking boards to the back porch this past winter...gosh..3 boards wide. After carrying 33 boards...some 12 feet long to the lean-to...I rested a bit.

I decided to fill the big can I keep in the house with the birdseed from the pole barn. I have avoided going in the pole barn since James left for Arkansas. Being in there..gave me the feeling of being in a tomb where someone had died. (I believe James spent more time there than he did in the house all winter...tinkering...doing...whatever?) After filling the bird feeders I proceeded to pick up all of the fallen pine cones and whatever looked like it would damage the mower. I was ready to begin mowing.

I got on the mower, lifted the deck, turned on the gasoline, pumped the choke, turned on the key...NOTHING...dead...no noise. I don't pretend to be a mechanic...but I do know about the little tricks...check the gasoline...FULL. Check the oil...OK (and new). Run a wire brush over battery terminals...move the terminals with a gentle tap of a hammer. Jiggle all the wires. OK...now to try it again. NOTHING. Already in neutral I turn the wheels and push it into the pole barn. Close the door...lock it.

Why? Only God knows. His plan is for our good and our safety. We know not why things happen or they don't but we need to TRUST that He knows best.
What happened to mama cats babies? Why doesn't she care? Why isn't she with them? Were they born dead? I wonder what they looked like?
Why wasn't I able to mow the lawn?

I did all I could today, but God had other plans. One day I'll know why? I will trust that He knows best. Tomorrow is a new day.


LEARNING...as I go. J.C.M.