Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8

Another Anniversary

Dear readers, I launched Back 2 the Garden nine years ago yesterday. Some of you have been with me on my journey to share stories of God’s goodness and faithfulness since that first post, while others have found their way to my little place in the blogosphere more recently. Regardless of the length of our association, thank you for taking the time to read my posts. As I write, I always pray God will use my humble attempts to encourage others and point them to Him, our source of life, hope, and peace.

This is my 246^th post. Longtime readers know I don’t seek to be contentious. Yet, ironically, the object lesson I’ve chosen to write about this time might provoke a strong response, so I will preface it by saying I do not hate cats – I’ve had several as pets – and I don’t mistreat animals unless you count roaches which I obliterate if they get within reach! Whether you’re a fellow cat-lover or think dogs are man’s best friend, I hope you’ll read all the way to the end for the real villain.

A Terrible Sight

As soon as I stepped out of the garage, I heard a commotion coming from the large camellia in front of my house. I looked that way and realized the shrill noises emanated from a bird who jumped up and dove back into the bush. She repeated the moves several times. Frantic flapping accompanied her desperate chirping.

My mind quickly ran through possibilities as I strode closer. What could be pestering the bird to elicit such frenzied behavior? Was it another bird? A snake? Oh no, not a CAT!! The thought had no sooner entered my mind than my neighbor’s black cat plopped to the ground under the camellia. I approached her, scolding and clapping my hands. But, unlike usual, my shooing didn’t work. Instead, she flashed a nonchalant look my way and opened her mouth enough for me to see the mangled body of a baby bird.

I stomped toward her, yelling, “Noooo! How could you?!” Unremorseful, she trotted off to consume what remained of her tiny prey.

I picked up a stick and chased her all the way around my house, threatening as I pursued her. I’m glad I didn’t catch her since giving full vent to your anger rarely results in a positive outcome unless it’s a Jesus-casting-money-changers-out-of-the-Temple moment. As much as the event I witnessed shocked and saddened me, it didn’t meet that criteria.

I don’t know how long I stood vigil by the camellia, stick in hand, plotting how to protect the other babies in the nest. I could hear their muted chirps and imagined the mother’s despair at losing one of them. I contemplated several extreme possibilities, but after googling options gave me time to calm down, I sprinkled cayenne pepper on the ground around the giant shrub and on several of its lower branches in hopes it would provide a deterrent against future foraging.

The Real Enemy

The horrible scene of the cat dropping to the ground with the broken body in its mouth replayed in my mind. I couldn’t unsee it, no matter how hard I tried. As I sat at my table and lamented the wanton loss of life, I realized I wasn’t just weeping for the mamma bird and her baby. Death has snatched too many people, both friends and relatives, from my life in the past few years. In fact, I’d received word just a few hours before the cat incident that a dear sister in Christ had entered the Lord’s presence after a courageous battle with cancer. And that news came the day after I attended the funeral of a friend’s father.

Sometimes death pounces, taking its prey quickly as it did with my husband. Then again, it will toy with its victim, batting and clawing, diminishing them bit by bit as it did with my beloved mother and is doing now with my dad. Oh, how it hurt to watch Mom lose the ability to balance her checkbook or make the pound cake she’d baked countless times for over 50 years. Oh, the pain of seeing my strong, capable daddy withering away, barely able to feed himself or complete his sentences.

I was chasing my neighbor’s pet around the house, but she was only symbolic of the actual target of my rage. Our enemy prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to destroy, and even though death won’t get the final say, it presently causes great sorrow. We weren’t supposed to get old or sick or die, and the animals weren’t supposed to eat each other, but sin entered God’s beautiful, perfect world. All of creation has been groaning ever since (Romans 8:19-22).

Ultimate Victory

Praise God; we know the groaning won’t last forever. Though death is part of our life now, Jesus dealt the promised fatal blow to the enemy of our souls. He secured the victory when He went to the cross and endured God’s wrath for us so that we can enter into God’s presence, robed in His righteousness (Romans 5:8-11). It is finished!

Our pastor ended this morning’s sermon by reminding us that death and grief do not define us. We are covenant children, people of hope, who have God’s immutable promises as a sure anchor for our souls (Hebrews 6:19).

When Jesus ushers in the new heavens and new earth, death and tears and pain will have no place. The wolf will dwell with the lamb. Nothing will harm or kill or destroy on God’s holy mountain ever again.

I long for the day when our Savior will return to make all things right. I may have been yelling at the cat and weeping over my friend’s passing and my dad’s waning abilities, but I know the Lord heard the true cry of my heart, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

Forever Promises

In closing, I want to share two of my favorite passages regarding what we look forward to with absolute assurance. I pray they’ll encourage your heart as well.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:1-5, emphasis mine)

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
    and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
    and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
 They shall not hurt or destroy
    in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9, emphasis mine)