Toss a cat from a ten foot tower and he will mathematically and accurately land on his feet. Stick with God long enough and he will teach you their secret so you can land on your feet too.

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These days it would be most inhumane what Felton (my brother in law) used to do to the neighborhood cat. Throughout our family  history on any large family gathering comes the story of Felton when he was a child taking the neighborhood cat by the tail and flinging it to wind only to watch time and time again land on its feet. Perhaps at this particular gathering it was the stray cat drawn to aroma of barbeque on the pit that triggered the memory this time.

Of course there was a part two to this story – the cat’s revenge, but we won’t go there today. Suffice it to say that there did come a day when Felton learned not to toss cats. Anyway the object of the lesson is that every single time the cat landed on its feet.  One day we began to discuss this phenomenon and concluded that the secret to this feat was that the cat had a keen ability to compute and do logistics exclusive of equilibrium. Flip it, twist it, twirl it, or toss it – it would precisely calculate what it would take to bring it safely to the ground on all four paws. We can learn a lesson from a cat.

Life has a way of throwing us completely out of equilibrium. Instead of calculating to get us back on our feet, we complain and land on our backs. Ouch. However, God wants to teach us how to act like a cat when the circumstances of life broadside us. Yes, you might just unexpectedly be caught up and flung into some weird set of life events; but as you are twirling and whirling begin to think ahead and calculate the success you intend to have when it’s all over. If you do this, you will land on your feet every time.

That cat had absolutely no control over what Felton did. He was just unfortunately a victim of Felton’s childhood curiosity. The moment the cat saw that it was in an unfavorable situation it began to plan how to survive, not how to strike back at Felton. When we get caught up in the unexpected we need to begin to plan for survival and not try to retaliate at who or what contributed to our bad circumstances.

When that cat saw that it was in eminent danger, it zeroed in on landing, not how painful it was being tossed. Oh that we could be like a cat. Often during tests and trials we become so problem centered that we miss survival mode and are thereby devastated. We need to be just like the cat, put every other thought aside and focus only on what will bring us through safely.

Our final observation of the cat was on this. When that cat would land, it would take off running. Even when most people survive a test, they turn, look back and woefully lament on the source of their troubles. They become immobilized in the past and their future is worthless. We need to be like a cat and hit the ground running, not looking back and with God’s help we can. 

copyright  2006