After Zoey died I was a wreck. I would cry at the strangest of times and wander the house. I remembered every little thing she did and felt her absence in an enormous way. When you are used to the presence of another life in your house and it is not there, the house takes on a loneliness of it's own. I hated being home and could not escape the bad feelings of being without Zoey.
I discovered an animal rescue shelter a couple miles from our house and stopped in to look around. It is a wonderful place with kittens, cats, puppies and dogs. I love animals and was soothed by being there. There were several rooms with a variety of cats in them. I sat in each room making myself available for rubbing on, scratching and petting. I found myself there nearly every day, being comforted and comforting.
One particular room had two male cats in it and one female. There was a grey striped cat and a small black one. They had a stuffed car bed and I always saw them cuddled and asleep in it. The attendants told me their story.
It seems they were a bonded pair (brothers) and could not be seperated. I was told that once they separated such a pair and they did not survive. They also pointed out that black cats are the hardest to find homes for because people are not typically drawn to them. They also pointed out that the grey striped brother had scars on both his eyes and that he was pretty much blind. In an other room, I found a big guy named Skeeters. Every time I sat in that room, Skeeters would jump on my lap and play with the strings, zipper and buttons on my jacket. I soon realized he was adopting me.
The black cat (they called Vince) had bright yellow eyes and grey striped cat (they called Vance) had cloudy eyes. They had been in the shelter for a longer time than usual giving me the impression that they might not ever find a home. Vince seemed to protect Vance and was always close at hand. The staff told me Vince would help Vance find things in the room. Vince had taken the role of guardian. Even though Vince was so much smaller, he was acting like a big brother. I felt so bad for Vance and was sure with his bad sight and scared eyes, no one would ever offer him a home.
The more time I spent with them, the more I realized it was Vince that needed rescuing. Vance was friendly and would sit on your lap for as long as you offered it. Vince could not be held or touched. If you attempted to pet him, he would run and hide. There was no way you could have any kind of relationship with him. I realized that he was the one who was troubled. He appeared unlovable, unfriendly and a bit mean. It was clear to me, that this guy desperately needed to be loved. It was clear this guy needed a home more than any of the other cats I spent time with.
Vince, Vance and Skeeters joined our family and there again was life in the house. Zoey would never be replaced or forgotten, but these guys took my mind off her absence. You might think it was heroic to adopted the boys, but they were the heroes because it was they who rescued me, not the other way around.
You think the names Vince and Vance are confusing? We thought it was confusing too and I imagine they may have been confused as well. Both names had similar sounds so we renamed them. Vince became Toby (black) and Vance (grey striped) became Buddy. I imagine I have completely confused you now.
Buddy and Toby actually have a cat virus that is either dormant or active in most cats. That virus is what caused Buddy's eyes to scar over. They started having a sneezing blood issue which required us to administer medicine orally. Buddy handled that fairly well, but Toby squirmed and clawed always leaving me bleeding somewhere. He would not be helped, he would not be touched. You might label him incorrigible. I knew he needed to be loved, I knew he deserved to be loved, what creature doesn't? I held him as often and as long as I could, and I bled as much as he could make me. I could only hold him for seconds before he would claw his way to freedom. The touch of a human hand seemed to terrify him.
The end result is that he did need love, he did enjoy affection - even though he resisted it. Toby now lays in front of me while I do my Bible reading and prayers. He jumps on everyone's lap. He rubs agains everyone and everything. He purrs at a touch. When you scratch him he rolls to every side so that you scratch every spot on his little body. He checks on us nightly when we are asleep and I can hold him as long as I want.
Zoey and Toby are two very different cats with two very different starts in our home. Both cats ended up being very much the same, although Zoey was near human.
The point in the Zoey Legacy blog was that if a creature who could not even talk, could evoke such love and affection, then what is our problem? The point I want to make regarding Toby is that if a creature who wanted nothing to do with you, would not be touched, and would not be cuddled could change so greatly by someone not giving up on loving him, maybe we can see the same results with people.
Perhaps some of the people we see as incorrigible, mean and unlovable are those whose lives can be made richer and fuller by being loved. If we are committed to loving those around us, perhaps the unlovable can become lovable. Sure we might get scratched or even bleed a little along the way but what better reason is there to let a little blood flow.
Remember the quote from Dan Millman? "Those that are the hardest to love are usually the ones who need it the most". Like Toby, there are people who are hurt, damaged or scarred by life and need to be loved. How would you imagine God would respond to us if we see a person in need and ignore them? How would you imagine God would respond to us withholding love thus ignoring His greatest command to love?
What credit is it to you to love those who love you, even the pagans do that? Love everyone, even those who appear to not want it or need it. Difficult? Sure.
Who knows, by loving someone you might just rescue them. Who knows, by loving someone, it might be you who gets rescued!
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 NLT
"And may the Lord make your love for one another grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. May He, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all His holy people. Amen".