Flat Cat

Flat Cat

I witnessed something horrific. I am usually a morbid, blood and guts kind of guy, but this event troubled me.

I had pulled into the parking lot of the local funeral home to go in and conduct a memorial service. I just got out of my car in the parking lot and was putting on my suit jacket and I noticed a car starting up to leave and I also heard this young cat meowing loudly.

At first I didn't see a cat, until I saw the car start to back out of it's space about 25 yards away and then all the sudden this young cat appeared in the passenger's side wheel well on top of the tire, scared and clutched to the tired, the poor cat stayed on the tire while the man was backing up, until the meowing stopped and the cat dissapeared for a moment and then reapperead dead on the other side of the tire from the force and pressure of the tire running over it's body.

I don't mean to be graphic or disgust anyone, but I felt helpless, it happened so fast, and I've never really seen an animal die like that. I hunt and kill animals, I'm not a tree hugging/save the planet/all dogs go to heaven/emo/hippy, and I've certainly hit a couple animals with my car driving, but it was eery seeing this cat cling to that tire and ride it to death, when all it had to do was jump off. It sounded pretty simple to me, but being a young cat, I guess it wasn't familiar with the dangers of hanging out under a motor vehicle?

In that few seconds, which seemed like forever, that cat went from alive to dead. All it had to do was get off the tire and it would have lived, but instead it was scared, froze, and clung to the very thing that would end it's life.

Oh, how that sounds like many in our world. We cling to this world and it's treasures, it's addictions, and it's troubles, and we have the answer right in front of us and we ignore it or choose not to see it. God is right there, right now, and all we have to do is take that first step and take that leap, yet so many people choose to stay clung to the tire and it ruins, destroys, and changes the course of their lives, and it leads only to misery, trouble, and death. Sometimes we cling to something that seems good or fun, only to be run over by it.

That cat's untimely demise horrifically reminded me yesterday of how so many times, we could avoid tragedy, troubles, and trauma by simply removing ourselves from the danger or avoiding people/places/things that bring us down or could harm us, and yet we ignore the warnings.

What type of tire are you clinging to today? What type of vehicle are you snooping under that you need to avoid? It is one thing to be a risk taker when it comes to finances, changing jobs, or dating. It is another when it comes to taking foolish risks or things that could jeaopordize our very lives or more importantly our souls.

Stay away from cars and tires that would and could and will destroy your life. Learn the lesson of the flat cat today. His 9 lives didn't do him much good under that sort of incident, and we only have one precious valuable life to life. What you do with it, does determine your destiny.

"Avoid every kind of evil."
I Thessalonians 5:22(NIV)