Those who know me IRL and some of you who are my virtual friends only, know that I returned to school this past year. I am well on my way to finally earning my degree in Psychology. I thought since I had spent so much time in therapy already I should have a pretty good handle on things. So I commandeered the front room, as we call it, and turned it into my office. I got a desk (thanks, Mom!), painted the walls, got some shelving (again, thanks, Mom!) and even let J have a little table across from me to do whatever it is he does in his home office. The problem is there is one other thing that had to stay in my office; Koko's litter box. I know what you're thinking, but there was no other place for it and since he is carrying on a strange bromance with one of my boys, I couldn't very well toss the little furball out and break up such a wonderful example of cross-species male bonding. So the box is in my office but I did set up a quaint little picture frame screen to shield it and add privacy. The privacy is for me, he certainly doesn't care! As you can see from the picture that I hopefully was able to upload here, there are, as of yet, no pictures in the frames but I'm working on it. The boys most helpfully suggested pictures with different poses of the different cats utilizing the hidden receptacle but I quickly vetoed their gross, although bizarrely clever idea.
Koko is an interesting cat. He was a stray that found a home with us a while back and I don't think he had his mommy cat long enough as he has a tendency to try to nurse your ear if you let him. (that's a different post all together) Here's the thing with Koko though, as cute as he is, as funny as he is and as much as I enjoy him, he does things behind that screen that have made wallpaper remover unnecessary. It never fails when I am racing a deadline on an important assignment he will hear the call of nature and make a visit to my office. Sometimes I am sure I can hear him muttering in his little kitty voice in his hidden corner; "meow! what did I eat?! Wow! I don't remember that!" as the foul fog slowly drifts over my office in a manner similar to the old horror movie "The Mist". I've gone through 2 goldfish and several house plants and I finally decided something had to be done!
All of that leads me to today's little lesson. Have you guys seen the plug in wax warmers? They are cute little ceramic bowls that plug in and when you put a cube of vanilla scented wax on the plate that sits on them, it melts and releases a lovely cat box odor covering fragrance. So when Koko came running, and I do mean RUNNING, down the stairs this morning and went straight behind the screen, I knew what was coming. So I plugged in my new little contraption and waited for the lovely fragrance. A few minutes later, I removed my gas mask to test the air quality and was disappointed to find it still not breathable. When I checked my little gadget, I found it was hot. It was so hot, in fact, that the bottom of it had slightly melted the plastic on which I had set it but the plate where you put the wax was barely warm! I fiddled with it (yes, it's a word, it's a Southern thing!) and fiddled with it. It was so hot, I had to use pot holders to move it around and I still couldn't figure out why it wasn't working. I couldn't hold my breath much longer so I had to work something out. I could see that the plate that held the wax didn't sit right down on the little bowl thingy, that had to be the problem! I picked it up and turned it over to look at the bottom, and that's when it hit me. I had the bowl upside down. I had set the plate on the bottom of the bowl and put the heating element directly down on the plastic! In my defense, that is the way it was in the box, I had just taken it out and plugged it in! After setting things right, the wax melted and it now smells better in here, a little like vanilla scented cat litter, but I digress.....
Those of you who are frequent visitors to the intricacies of my life know there is always something else to the story and this one is no different. How much time did I waste holding my breath, melting plastic and generally fussy with things unnecessarily? All I needed to do was to retrieve the instructions from the box in the trash where I had filed them and read! I thought I had it all figure out on my own. How many times in life have we done the same thing? There is a verse that says "There can be a way that seems right to a person, but at it's end are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:20 CJB)
Just like I had been given instructions on the proper set up and use of my wax melter thingy, we have been given instructions on the best way to walk out our lives. We have been given the word in written form and, even better, we have complete access to the author so we can be sure we are understanding it. I lost time messing around with my gadget, but worse, I have, many times, lost time going down the wrong path because I didn't consult my instruction manual. I lost time wandering down the path of unforgiveness, the road of gossip, the trail of judgement, and the avenue of pride. It was only when I finally realized things were not going as they should, that I was not where I wanted to be, that I went back, checked the instructions and figured out where I went wrong. After that, it wasn't long before things started smelling a lot better in my life!
So that is my challenge to you, my dear readers. Hang on to that instruction manual, better yet, hang out in it, soaking up every word. And when you have trouble getting a grip on what it is saying to you, you can always ask the author. He's sitting right there with you. There is no need to stumble around in the smelly darkness trying to figure out how to work things on your own. Be smart! Go read the instructions!
Until next time, I'll be here, studying hard, reading the instructions, psychoanalyzing the cat,
and transferring my gas mask to the boys bathroom. It's almost time to clean it, but that's another smelly post for another time!
As always, I am soaked in His blessings,
Spokenfor
