Caring for cats has enhanced my own understanding of my faith and has opened my eyes to man's relationship with God. This revelation sparked enthusiasm to write about this one particular incident. It happened one morning while trying to feed a feral cat named Snip. I thought it was the perfect name for the one-eared cat. I felt so sorry for Snip and I’ve often prayed to God to put him out of his misery if he is feeling too much pain, but he continues to press on.

Snip distrusts all humans; this made me wonder if he was abused at some point in his life. I had hoped whatever the cause for his ear injury that it was just a horrible accident and not the result of a cruel joke.

I fed Snip as well as the other feral cats on a daily basis. One afternoon, my husband and I got a loud knock on our door. The neighbor that lived down the street was concerned for his ill pet. He had to take his cat to the vet a few days before. He asked if we could remove the food and keep it inside. My heart broke.

The cats had depended on me for so long, how could I stop feeding them now? Thoughts had blazed through my mind. I brought the food in, but left the water outside. This new arrangement didn’t last long though, and I got into the habit of putting the food outside whenever I would see a cat and then bring the plate in when each cat was finished eating. This routine was very tiresome for me, but it was the only thing left to do.

Snip would wait outside on the porch at various times during the day, and he’d sit there with his long silky black and white fur blowing in the breeze. Early in the morning he would wait for his breakfast. Even though I was half asleep, I would feed him and then wait for him to finish his meal. Then I’d stagger back to sleep until the next time I awoke to find a hungry cat outside my door.

I noticed that every time I’d open the door to put food outside Snip would scurry away. As soon as I shut the door, he’d come back and eat. Sometimes he played games with me, and one day he kept running away from me and never returned to eat. All I wanted to do was help him. The food was right there waiting for him; all he had to do was look.

It dawned on me how often we humans are like that with God. All God wants to do is help us and give us the spiritual food that we need. He is always there for us; all we have to do is come to Him. How many times have we run away from Him? Scared of a relationship with Him?

Are you like the stray wanderer? Let’s not turn our backs to Christ when He so desperately wants our attention and a relationship with us. All Snip had to do was come back to get what he needed. He needed food to fill his belly, but Christ is the spiritual food we need. With all these questions in my mind, this revelation was certainly spiritual food for thought.


And Jesus said unto them, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth in me shall never thirst." John 6:35

Copyright Michelle Moffett