How God Taught Me Patience

Ephesians 4:2 “Be patient”

On April 7, 2021, I adopted a cat I named Samson.  He was about fourteen months old and very afraid of humans.  I wrote about him after two weeks of almost never seeing him in Learning to Trust on April 24, 2021.  It has been two and a half months and Samson now sits on my lap for a short time.  Yet it was a long road to get Samson to this point.  During the last two months I would do “Sammy updates” on Facebook.  People seemed to like to hear about how Sammy, as I now call him, is doing.  I post pictures to show Sammy’s progress.  Below are excerpts.

May 1^st, I found Samson’s hiding place, but I can’t reach him. I want him to feel safe, yet I want him to come out! He’s so cute!

May 2^nd So I just headed to bed, turned on my bedroom light and guess who is standing on my bed.  He just stood there looking at me I started talking to him and I took a few steps slowly, very slowly, towards him with my hand out he finally decided to go hide under my bed.  Progress.

May 4^th So around 4:30 this morning I woke to the cat playing in my room with something. I’m tired cat! Play somewhere else!!!

May 10^th Sammy just came in the living room where I’m sitting and looked at me for a minute or two. That’s the first time he did that.  I bought him two more toys (Dollar Tree) and treats!

May 13^th My cat Sammy is getting braver this week.  I see him a lot in the evenings and early mornings if I’m up before dawn.  This morning I woke at 4:30 to use the bathroom and went back to bed but couldn’t sleep so I played solitaire on my tablet.   After a while it was starting to get light and I saw him (Sammy) sitting in my bedroom doorway.   So, I started talking to him and he kept getting closer to my bed.  After a while I tried rolling over and he darted into the kitchen/living room part of my apartment.   I couldn’t go back to sleep s I gave up.  I was in the kitchen getting coffee going and there he was about 4 feet from me.  He went down the hall to my room, pausing to look back at me then into my room.  I told him to have a good sleep.  I thought I wouldn’t see him again until tonight.  A little later I’m sitting on my couch having my coffee and getting my prayer journal set up for the day (listing who I’m praying for this day, date and scriptural I’m reading, etc.).  I look up and there he was standing just inside the living room looking at me as if to say “just checking on you” then he was gone.  I think he is warming up to the idea that I am his human but not ready to claim me. 

May 15^th Watching mommy get things ready for work.  He sits now and watches.

May 17^th, I woke at 3:40am because something ran across ankles. Really cat go run somewhere else! I still love you!

May 20^th Awake in the night again due to chronic pain and a cold I was reading the Bible on my tablet.  I noticed Sammy slowly creeping towards my bed.  He gets to the foot and lays down.  I talked to him a little bit and thanked him for being my kitty.  Knowing he was there I tried again to go to sleep.  Laying quietly for a little awhile without success I looked, and he was gone.  Later I did sleep.  No sign of him this morning.

May 21^st Awake for a couple of hours again last night due to this cold(?) and chronic pain.  Samson stood guard at the doorway while I struggled to breathe.  (Vicks helped and my inhaler.)  At one time he was at my feet for a moment or two.  Staying home again today.  I don’t have enough energy to take a shower let alone go to work.  Have a great Friday everyone!  God loves you so much!

May 24^th Last night right after I laid down in my bed, I saw Sammy in the doorway as usual.  He slowly creeped over to the foot of my bed.  Then slowly creeped up to the head of the bed. I was talking to him the whole time.   He got right up to the head of the bed for about a minute then headed towards the door.  He did it again this morning but didn’t get all the way up because a coughing fit scared him away. I thought about going back to work today but I don’t think I’m up to it.  Thanks for praying y’all.  Have a great Monday!!!  Remember God loves you!

May 25^th On the other hand twice last night Sammy followed me back into my bedroom when I got up to use the bathroom and watched while I used my inhaler to calm my cough so I could go back to sleep.  He keeps his distance but its 3 or 4 feet instead of 8. 

May 26^th New Sammy photos!  I’ve been awake since 3:30am (prednisone does that to me). While I laid in my bed trying to go back to sleep Sammy spent time in my room playing. At one time he jumped up on the bed by my head for a second.  Later he did it again.  This morning while I was writing (a new blog post) he hung out in my office where I wrote it.  He now comes almost in the kitchen whenever I am in there cooking. I tell him I’m making dinner and when it’s done, I will give him his dinner so he can eat while I eat. Today I was cooking eggs with stuff in them, and I look down the hall there he was expecting me to give him food, the little pig! I gave him a treat, ha.  Soon I must make something for dinner because I know he will want to eat.  What to make?  Even though I napped today I still have a lot of fatigue.   I must go back to work tomorrow.  God will help me, he always does.

May 27^th I was awake in the night again (prednisone) and just laying on my back and suddenly felt something on my feet.  He laid there for a while and slowly made his way to the top of my legs and laid there for the longest time.  I was on my tablet but laid see still as I could.   Later he got up.  This morning he was following me while I was getting ready for work and played in my room.  Loving him getting used to me.  Maybe soon he will let me pet him. 

May 29^th Sammy update:  I woke up about 1:30 to use the bathroom and went back to bed.  Couldn’t sleep so I was on my tablet play games and here comes Sammy crawling up my legs.  He settled in on my upper thighs and I went back to reading the Psalms.  He decided to give himself a full body wash and that went on for a long time.  I put my tablet on my nightstand and just laid there. Sammy don’t go anywhere.   Later he did leave.  Still not able to sleep I laid on my side because my back hurts to sleep on it.  Started to doze off when I realized something was touching my butt.  Yep, there was Sammy struggling up to my back side.  Later I fell asleep and when I awoke, he was gone.

May 31^st Sammy is being very social this morning. This is the first time he has come into the living room when I was in it.  He also follows me from the bathroom after I brush my teeth and waits until I get into bed before jumping up on the bed to stay with me. I haven’t petted him yet, but I love the progress.

June 2^nd Sammy is spending more time in the living room when I am there.

June 4^th My cat is crazy!  He follows me all over.  He plays up a storm in the living room when I’m in it. I started doing some arm exercises and now he’s my personal trainer.  I bought him 3 new mice toys last night and he loves them, yet I can’t find them this morning. I suspect my couch is a gold mine of cat toys if I looked under it. Last night he licked my hand twice but when I went to pet him, he was gone! Not fair cat!

June 5^th The sun is reflecting off my tablet causing lights on the wall.  “Must get those lights, I must!”  LOL cat you make me laugh!!!!

June 6^th All those years when Princess was around, I displayed some small items on the shelves of my tv stand.  A couple of months ago my son Aaron decided I needed a bigger tv in my living room and he found someone selling this big tv at a great price, used. It’s a little too big for my tv stand I built with my own hands twenty years ago.  So, I thought I would get a new tv stand and took everything off the shelves.  Then I got COVID a second time followed closely by another round of bronchitis, and I never got around to getting a tv stand.  Maybe someday I will but I was thinking of putting my stuff back on the shelves then this morning I changed my mind.  Lol cat God sent you into my life to make me laugh!!!

June 6^th FINALLY! I pet my cat! He let me give him a good head massage! Dream come true!

June 8^th Note to self: now that my cat follows me everywhere I need to close the bathroom door when taking a shower.  The smoke alarm is right across from the bathroom.  If I don’t close the bathroom door when showering the steam sets off the smoke alarm.  Guess I didn’t close it tight, and Sammy pushed the door open.  Afterwards he looked at me as if to say, ” I couldn’t see you mommy and I heard water running so I got worried and came to your rescue!”  Lol cat!  You’re too funny!  Have a great day everyone!

June 12^th So Sammy likes to check out what I’m eating.   He never eats any of my food but gets close enough to smell it well.  This morning I had sunny side up eggs and Sammy took a good smell.  Lol, you got egg on your face cat!!!

June 21^st Today Sammy climb up on the couch and sat with me for a while.  He also sat in my lap.  Progress!

June 21^st “How can one resist that face?”  I was mad at my kitty early this morning because he was fighting my feet and I was trying to sleep then he climbs up on the couch when I’m writing in my prayer journal and gives me this face.

June 23^rd My cat is nuts!!! He just climbed into the toilet after I flushed. Why???

Today, June 25^th Selfies with mommie!

Sammy still does not climb up under my chin to cuddle like Princess used to do all the time.  Yet I am okay with it since Sammy is only about sixteen months old and still does not know how to sit still for any length of time.  I need to get him into the vet and have his claws trimmed.  They are needle like.  He likes to play with my feet sometimes during the night.  It hurts when he sticks his claws in my feet.  I have put my weighted blanket back on my bed to cover my feet and legs to protect myself from Sammy’s claws.  I had taken the weighted blanket off because it’s too hot to use.  Too hot or sharp needles in the skin?  I will take the heat.

It has taken a long time to get Sammy to feel comfortable with me and to claim me as his human.  When I wrote Learning to Trust I really wanted a cat to replace Princess.  One who would just cuddle with me under my chin and not do much else.  Instead, I got a cat who loves me and plays much of the time.  He also makes me laugh.  That was something I really needed.  But, most of all Sammy taught me patience.  Patience with him as he was learning to trust, but patience with others.  Thank You God for giving me Sammy to teach me patience.  What has God taught you lately?

Below is a list of books talking about patience from Christianbook.com Home. I am an affiliate and if you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small percentage of your purchase at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep this website running. Thank you for your support.

The Meaning is in the Waiting: The Spirit of Advent

By Paula Gooder



In her debut book, Paula Gooder notes that in our observance of Advent, the spiritual practice of waiting is a vital component to our well-being and our Christian growth. Waiting is the primary lesson of Advent, notes Gooder, and Advent is about learning to love the waiting. Arranged for daily reading during the feverish run-up to Christmas, Gooder helps us to discover different kinds of waiting by using the biblical characters traditionally represented by each of the candles on the Advent wreath. Abraham & Sarah waited a lifetime for the fulfillment of God’s promises, the Hebrew prophets waited for God’s intervention, John the Baptist waited for the beginning of a new era of God’s ministry and Mary waited with patience for God to bring forth events well beyond her control. With a forward by Lauren Winner, this thoughtful book will enable you to participate in a way of being that is expectant rather than urgent, keeping you focused on God in the present, rather than on some uncertain future.

We Believed: Our Ten-Year Journey Pursuing God’s Promises to Adopt Four Children

By Jeffrey Moore

How do you follow the promises of God when they feel like a puzzle without the picture? In We Believed, Jeffrey Moore shares his family’s ten-year journey of believing God’s promises before they were manifested. This is their story of fulfilling God’s calling in their lives through adoption. Follow along with them as they chronicle the many twists and turns on their way to adopting four siblings from Peru.

If you’ve ever been asked by God to do something seemingly impossible, take hope from this story of receiving God’s promises through faith and patience. Throughout this story, Jeffrey Moore incorporates specific learnings about faith, hearing from God, and receiving His promises.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jeffrey S. Moore is a son, a husband, a father, a minister, an author, and a treasure hunter. He and his wife, Kristine, reside in Aurora, Colorado, USA, with their five incredible children. He loves spending time with his family, preferably on a Caribbean beach when possible! He also craves Mexican food.

Jeffrey and Kristine are co-founders of Set Sail Ministries. He loves sharing his experiences and learnings on sonship, healing, and adoption.

The Book of James – Rose Visual Bible Study

This informative introduction to the book of James summarizes the main themes of temptation and spiritual maturity, controlling the tongue, patience in prayer, and faith in action. Helpful charts summarize the dangers to believers, responses that lead to maturity, and spiritual benefits of perseverance. In the clear and easy-to-read style of Rose’s visual elements, Rose Visual Bible Studies are packed with charts, graphs, images, and fascinating facts. These Bible studies are easy enough that the new believer understands, but in-depth enough that the longtime churchgoer still comes away learning something new.