My love affair with my cat started 7 years ago. It had been a few months since we had had to put down our previous cat. My son mentioned that he would like to have another cat. I was kind of wanting another one as well, so our search began. Before we could make the extremely sad visit to the local shelter ( I always walk out of those places with huge loads of guilt and sadness), Jeff called and said that he found us the perfect new pet. It turns out that one of neighbors prized, pure bred Siamese cats had gotten out for a little evening of romance with a local tomcat and they were giving away the mixed babies. Perfect. They said that they had two little girls left, so Jeff grabbed one and brought it home.
We named her Sasha. Bought her a pink bed. Cutest little kitty ever! Until one day, while playing with our little kitten we noticed that she was, in fact, a little boy. Whoops! I guess it takes a little while for things to grow, if you know what I mean ;)
Ok. So the name Sasha needed to be changed. We racked our brains, trying to find something that sounded similar to Sasha. Keagan came up with the name Mufasa, from the lion king. Mufasa means "King" in Swahili. Turns out he was aptly named.
From day one, Mufasa was sure of his place in our family, and that his place was to be at the top. Keagan thought that since this was his kitten, he would have him sleep in his room. Mufasa promptly informed us of his loathing for things like closed doors. Keagan couldn't stand to have him crying and rattling his closed door with his paws at night. Round one goes to the cat.
Mufasa decided that our bedroom was the place to be at night, and so we sleep with our door open. Why? Because no matter which side of the closed door he is on, it's the wrong side. And, in his opinion, all doors shall be opened for the king. Round two goes to the cat.
Mufasa has also decided that my side of the bed is the most comfortable place to be. In fact, he wants to sleep on my side of the bed, on top of me. He only weighs 12 lbs until he decides to lay on me, then he turns into a 500 pound immovable object. And, if I move around to much, he lets me know by growling. Round three goes to the cat.
Mufasa is also the reason why I must sleep with a squirt bottle full of water. At some point in the middle of the night, he decides that the bed is not soft enough, so he begins to paw at it, to make it softer. He will do this to infinity if I let him, thus the squirt bottle. He starts to paw, I reach for the squirt bottle, he stops (at least until I go back to sleep). Round four goes to the human. Actually, this one may actually go to the cat, because I usually end up petting him a little to settle him down after I have employed the use of said squirt bottle.
Keagan won a stuffed Cat in the Hat toy from his school during Dr. Suess week. Mufasa immediately claimed said toy as his. He hauls it around everywhere.
We often find Cat in the Hat face down in the food bowl. Apparently, the food bowl is where all good cat toys must end up. He rounds up all of his favorite toys throughout the house and places them all in his food bowl. Which then clogs it up since it is supposed to be a self-feeding bowl. I spend a little time every day taking all the toys out of the bowl so that the food can fall down the way it is supposed to. Round five goes to the cat.
He loves to play fetch with his little toy balls. He will bring them to me, drop them on the floor and loudly proclaim that it is now time to play with the cat. I will throw the balls forever, until he decides he is done fetching. At which point, he wants me to go and fetch the toy for him so that he can place it in the food bowl. Hmmmmm....
He only likes one kind of kitty litter. Only one kind of food. Only one type of litter box. He loudly lets you know in the morning that it is time to pay attention to the cat. He only wants to sit in front of the computer screen when I'm trying to look at said screen. He loves to go out on our deck and catch big bugs to bring inside to play with. He is a stealer of all hair ties, bows, etc... He will shove papers, books, whatever out of the way so that he can have the perfect spot to lay down. He sits on the heating vents and emphatically demands that the heater be turned on. He enjoys going out on the deck to chew the snot out of my herbs, only to come inside to find the few places where we have carpet to upchuck said herbs. He's pushy, demanding attention , when and where he wants it. He growls at the sound of a doorbell, even if it's one on T.V. He dearly loves me and no one else. In fact, he has been known to growl at some of our invited guest. He often demands that you pick him up so he can look out of some of the taller windows on the house. Rounds 6-20 go to the cat.
"Always wear your invisible crown."
Mufasa is the king and it is good to be the king. When it's all said and done, he is a cat who knows his value. BTW, he's not fond of the camera and having his picture taken.
We can learn some lessons from my cat about knowing your value in life. I'm not talking about being conceited, vain, self-centered, or egotistical. I'm talking about knowing and understanding that you bring value to this world.
"I don't know any perfect people. Just really, really flawed people who are still worth loving."
I know I talked about humility this week. Let me say, you can be humble and still have a sense of self-worth or value. Often, we let our insecurities overwhelm us. Shame us. Make us feel less than someone else. Let me tell you this, no one is worth more or less than you are. Jesus died on the cross so that ALL can have eternal life. He didn't come and just die for certain people. He values everyone.
"Comparison is the thief of joy."
"A woman that knows her worth doesn't measure herself against another woman, but stands strong, calm, and self confident."
"Envy is a symptom of lack of appreciation of our own uniqueness and self worth. Each of us has something to give that no one else has."
The key, I think, to having a healthy self-esteem is to quit comparing yourself to someone else. Instead, look at your own unique gifts, talents, etc... and find value there. Be comfortable with what you bring to the table. Don't dis-value or discredit what you can do. I do not have the talent or gifting to do amazing medical research that would cure disease. What can I do? I think I'm a good encourager. If you talk to people who have done great things in this world, many of them will tell you stories of how someone, somewhere came along and encouraged them to keep going. Without that encouragement, they may have quit or given up. So, in my mind, the encourager is just as important as the one who found the cure. Are you following me?
Envy wastes talent. When you spend time in comparison or in envy, you do not have time to use the talent you do possess. It discourages you from doing what you can do. It keeps you from making your valuable contribution to this world.
"Too many people undervalue what the are, and overvalue what they're not."
"You have a talent that none of the rest of us have. Just find out what it is and use it. It's doing nothing that's the enemy."
You have gifts and talents, use them. A job well done, using your giftings, gives you a sense of worth, a sense of contributing to this world you live in. I love these quotes:
"Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God."
"You were born with a purpose and are blessed with the power to achieve it."
So today, if you find yourself questioning your value, feeling like you are not worth anything, I would encourage you to remember that the God of the universe knows your worth. You were worth the sacrifice of his son. Don't undervalue what you can bring to this world. You have gifts and talents that are important and beneficial to those around you. Use them.
And remember, even a cat named Mufasa knows he has worth and value.
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