Reasons why cats are good pastoral caregivers:
1) they are warm as they sit on your lap
2) they have no expectations of interaction
3) they don't sit and talk at you for thirty minutes, say "you must be tired" and then continue to talk for another twenty minutes
4) they've got the "non-anxious presence" thing down
5) they don't have Netflix movie preferences that conflict with your own
6) they know that the Great One is in control, not you, not them.
The downside, unfortunately, is that they smell like cat food.
Lol, so true about the cats. Glad you're home. And you know what? Small world that it is, I am a very-part-time volunteer chaplain at Arlington (which we're not supposed to call that anymore, but I can never get used to the new name) and I was probably there when you were! See... I knew I was getting some not-so-good vibes from you.
ReplyDeleteI did the first year of my internship there last year, until June when the chaplaincy program was shut down. Now it's being revived again so I'm giving them a few hours every week, although I've had to find a new site for the second year of my internship.
Anyway...continue with the cat therapy, combined with some nice hot lemon tea (or whatever is your favorite). Stay inside out of this awful wind.
Prayers continuing.
also about cats, although they can't knit, they CAN purr...part of the non-anxious presence thing. I LOVED this post!
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