Recently I was having an engaging conversation with a friend at church. He shared an illustration he had used with his daughter and I told him he had just written my next newsletter.
He and his family have a cat - not something I would do, but I understand that there are millions of you out there who have made that choice. I do have somewhat limited cat-care experience because as a teenager I would house sit for a family friend and part of that job was providing for the needs of his cat. Each day I would clean out the litter-box. Why?
Because when a cat's litter-box is not cleaned regularly he begins to kick the litter and excrement onto the ground around the box. Additional neglect leads to the box being abandoned and the cat pooping throughout the house (remember this is my friend's illustration and understand I am struggling to phrase a memorable image decorously).
He told his daughter that she needs to clean her litter-box of emotions so that she doesn't begin spreading relational feces wherever she goes. Each day she needs to check the box to see if there are emotions that need to be dealt with before they build up and produce results that are damaging to her and to others.
The Bible encourages us: "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger" (Ephesians 4:26) and to avoid allowing a "root of bitterness" to spring up in our lives (Hebrews 12:15). My friend was simply paraphrasing these principles and broadening their application by speaking the language of his daughter who was routinely involved in cleaning their cat's litter-box.
 So, how's your litter-box of emotion? When you're finished cleaning up, please pass the plastic shovel.
(By the way, this article says that litter-box cleaning should be done twice daily. You dog owners shouldn't feel so bad about those plastic bags you're carrying.) |
Copyright © 2015 by Dr. Stephen Julian. All rights reserved.
|
