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Prone to Wander
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Prone to wander
Trusting God with Your Story

Prone to Wander

October 4, 2021
-
Posted by Cindi

I recently learned something about myself — and my Savior — from my black cat, Mowgli.

Each morning after exercising, I will ask him, “Mowgli, would you like to go outside?” After his enthusiastic “meeeroooowww,” I say, “Then come on, let’s get your harness” and he runs excitedly to the closet door where his harness and leash are kept.  (I know, he is more like a dog, than a cat).  He then prances toward the sliding glass door after he is securely harnessed.

Mowgli has to be on a leash every time he’s with me outside, even if I’m right next to him, because he tends to get frightened of other people or sounds he can’t identity (like the horribly scary noise of the community’s trash truck). When he gets frightened or when he starts to wander and his leash wraps around something and he suddenly feels restrained, he will panic, struggle out of his harness, and try to bolt away. (And black cats on the loose are not safe because people who are superstitious often try to harm them. Especially the closer it gets to Halloween!)

For the most part, Mowgli and I enjoy a wonderful morning outside together as I write articles on my laptop or respond to emails and he sits contentedly on the patio, leash securely attached. Now and then, as he tries to get a little further away from me to explore, I find myself saying “Not too far, Mowgli. Not too far.” If I run in the house for something (after attaching the end of his leash to a patio chair), he’ll watch and wait patiently for me to return, where he feels safe again.

But every once in awhile…

  • when a hummingbird swoops in real low and teases him, or
  • when a critter is rustling in the leaves nearby, or
  • when an insect crawls across the patio, or
  • when a butterfly or bee gets his attention…the hunter in him will engage, lunge forward, panic at his sense of restraint, and then wiggle quickly out of his harness and make a run for his potential kill.

That’s when I have to go after him. And when Mowgli realizes he’s free to wander, he tends to play a “catch me if you can” routine that stresses me out. After I catch him, I bring him back inside and tell him firmly, “no going outside again if you can’t stay in your harness.” 

Today I found myself saying to him, after he was back inside and whining that he couldn’t go out again, “Why can’t you stay in your harness? Don’t you know I want to keep you close so I can keep you safe?”

Oh how God must want to tether my heart to Him to keep me safe as well.

In Psalm 71:15 the Psalmist said, “My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long— though I know not how to relate them all.”

How many times has God seen me try to wander too far from His instruction, too close to temptation, and too close to something I might start loving more than Him and He gently applies the restraint, pulling me back to His side? How often has He seen me try to wiggle out of the harness of His love and pursue something that will never satisfy? Surely He always wants me tethered to Him to keep me from getting tangled up in the world, or distracted by something that wasn’t meant for me. Perhaps He is keeping me from pride, temptation, physical danger, or just by His side so I will be content and can enjoy life with Him.

David said in Psalm 16:11: “In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

I wonder if at times God asks me the same question I ask Mowgli: Don’t you know I want to keep you close to keep you safe? Why would you want to wander?

The old hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing rings through my mind this morning.

“Oh, to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be

Let Thy goodness like a fetter

Bind my wandering heart to Thee

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love

Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above.”

Lord, like the Psalmist, my mouth will declare your glorious deeds, of your saving acts all day long, though I know not how to relate them all.  Keep me close to Your side. Why would I EVER want to wander?

What have your pets taught you about yourself or the love of Your Heavenly Father? I’d love to hear it in the comment section below.

October 4, 2021
15 Comments
Cindi
Cindi McMenamin is an award-winning author and national speaker who helps women find strength for the soul. She has nearly 35 years experience ministering to women and inspiring them to let God meet their emotional needs, grow stronger through their alone times, and pursue their dreams with boldness.
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15 Comments

on Prone to Wander.
  1. Connie
    October 4, 2021 @ 10:18 pm
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    Reply

    I think Mowgli and Graham could be great friends 💜. I love this. Hadn’t seen a correlation between how the Lord cares for me and how I care for Graham, but I will certainly have my eyes open to it now.

    • Cindi
      October 5, 2021 @ 11:50 pm
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      Reply

      Connie, I knew from the time you told me about little Graham and the way he sleeps at your feet and always wants to be in your presence that he was a gift from God to you. Another blessing of His simply because He loves us and loves to see us smile. Graham loves you like you love Jesus. I have seen that already!

  2. Sarah Foster
    October 5, 2021 @ 1:40 am
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    Reply

    Jesse James, my cat, is used by God to show His unconditional love for me. He waits for me by the door every time I return. He talks back to me when I talk to him. He even instinctively knows who I am talking with on the phone and tells me, in his cat way, whether he approves of this person. When I am sad, very sad, he jumps up on the bed and will lay very close to my head. God knew I would need him. He uses a cat to show me He, God, is there for me. The more I learn to love JesseJames, the better person I am. I adopted Jesse James and he already had that name. I changed it to Jesse, David’s father, in the lineage of JC because he deserves a better name. He ran away for 3 days during coronavirus in 2020 upon the first snowfall. He returned to me after I cried and diligently attempted looking for him. That also says a lot about God. God returns to me too no matter how many times I leave Him.

    • Cindi
      October 5, 2021 @ 11:49 pm
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      Reply

      Yes, Sarah, God has promised to never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) and even though we try to run or hide, there is nowhere we can go outside His presence (Psalm 139:7-12). 🙂 Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

  3. Phyllis
    October 5, 2021 @ 11:11 am
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    Reply

    I recently babysat while my daughter and her husband went on vacation. Part of the package was two golden retrievers. They like to be inside, I like for them to be outside. When they were outside, one of them consistently got outside of the fence. What I noticed, once he was outside the fence, was he would just sit out there and stare inside. He didn’t get out and romp or have fun he just sat there and looked back on the inside. He had all kinds of freedom inside the fence – room to run, toys to play with, etc. My thought was, there has to be a spiritual application to this. Inside the perimeter of safety they God has set for us we have lots of freedom to move, play, and live. I do not want to be outside of the perimeter of safety that God has set for me. That’s a scary place.

    • Cindi
      October 5, 2021 @ 11:47 pm
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      Reply

      I love your analogy, Phyllis. Thanks so much for sharing that with me and my readers. 🙂

  4. Lara Polk
    October 5, 2021 @ 3:11 pm
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    Reply

    Thank you so much for this…I can understand well…after having children and now grandchildren – you love them so much and want to protect them. God feels the same way about us and I can only imagine what He says about me 🙂 ” oh my this one is going to drive me crazy – LOL . Love the picture of your cat – he is beautiful.

    • Cindi
      October 5, 2021 @ 11:46 pm
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      Reply

      Thanks, Lara. And I agree…what trouble we cause our Heavenly Father at times and yet He loves us SO much more than any pet or human ever could…and so much more than we love our own kids and grandkids.

  5. Janet
    October 5, 2021 @ 3:46 pm
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    Reply

    My pet is always so very excited to see people and sometimes I find myself trying to go unnoticed! I am learning from my pet to love unconditionally, be there for someone no matter what, and enjoy being in their company even if you don’t want to. Those are the people we need to love or give notice to. They need to see the good in us to see God! I try to be a great example of the love of God! (That is so hard to do sometimes!)

    • Cindi
      October 5, 2021 @ 11:44 pm
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      Reply

      Thanks, Janet, for your honesty. And thanks for sharing what you have learned from your pet. 🙂

  6. Diane Sibille
    October 5, 2021 @ 4:23 pm
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    Reply

    Amen! So prone to wander and to leave His Spirit and His word. Help me O Lord!

  7. Vivian
    October 5, 2021 @ 5:58 pm
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    Reply

    My dogs teach me how to enjoy and live in the moment. They know they will be fed, taken out for potty breaks, loved and spoiled. They will be taken care of when sick. They run and play regardless of the weather outside, or the state of this world we live in. They sleep contentedly near me or in their soft beds. Trusting that I will be there for them always. I believe our Father God wants me to trust Him in the same ways. Too often I try to control my life without looking to God first. My dogs always look to me for all their needs, trusting I will be there for them. They remind me and are teaching me to look to God and trust Him for all my needs too.

    • Cindi
      October 5, 2021 @ 11:45 pm
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      Reply

      Vivian, thank you for sharing how your dogs have taught you simple faith and trust. I love it! 🙂

  8. Lonnie Afonso
    October 6, 2021 @ 2:36 am
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    Reply

    Hi Cindi!
    My girl Boo, a French Bull Dog, has taught me how to greet my husband!!! I can’t quite wiggle my tail as well as she does, but I am working on my enthusiasm and kisses!!!!!!
    Lonnie Afonso

    • Cindi
      October 6, 2021 @ 3:25 am
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      Reply

      Lonnie, that’s wonderful insight. There’s a reason dogs are called “man’s best friend” right? What man wouldn’t want to be greeted at the door with kisses and enthusiasm and total excitement…and how much better if it comes from his wife?;) Let me know how that goes. 🙂

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