Attention Seeker

We have a female cat at home whom we named Lee and sometimes we call her Batgirl for the color (black and white) of her face resembles of that movie hero Batman. Lee has been with us for 8 years now.

Growing up, Lee is not a domesticated cat. She refused to be cuddled and always assumed as a bystander. What she did is that to be present only during feeding time along with her two siblings and then leave, without us knowing where her destination is.

Lee is a survivor, I remember when Lee and all of her siblings got sick, she was the only one who survived by just drinking water. She gained her strength back as my mother continued to feed her. Years came by, there were other cats that was adopted by my mother but still Lee remains aloof.

However, around January of this year when one of our adopted domesticated tabby cat named Whitey got lost, Lee slowly showed her domesticated side. She then would circle on our legs when we are around. If we sit on our balcony and she was there, she would headbutt our arms or legs and so we would touch her head or neck which we believe she likes very much.

From then on, Lee became a domesticated cat that likes to be petted. She would eat and leave the house for just a while and always comes back immediately.

Sometime last March of this year, my cousin who visited us from the States stayed with us. Before living in the States, she lived with us during her college days. So, she was present when Lee was born. She also witnessed when Lee became sick and surpassed the ordeal. My cousin was very surprised upon the new attitude of Lee whom she could easily touch and cuddle.

One day as she came from the mall, she brought with her a Whiskas cat dry food for Lee as a treat. At first the cat did not take it for Lee’s food consists of mix cooked rice and fish. But as the days went by, Lee started liking it and my cousin would always give Whiskas to Lee as a treat. When my cousin went back to the States (she stayed for 3 weeks with us), she left some Whiskas for Lee. So, my mother would feed Whiskas to the said cat every now and then as a treat. But when there was nothing left of the Whiskas, Lee seems to be looking forward to the treat. We have observed that she would eat less of the rice and fish being offered to her during meal time (my mother would feed the cat 2 times a day in the morning and evening) and that she always wants a treat. Lee would always make a purring sound at our balcony facing our house screened entrance door as if seeking our attention just to give her a treat. Because of that my mother was forced to buy Whiskas for Lee. The once aloof cat became an attention seeker just so we could give her the said cat food. This has been going on for sometime already. Today, Lee would always stay near our entrance door in between meal time doing her signature meow sound just so to attract the attention of any member of the family who is at home to notice her and thus give her Whiskas.

Just like Lee, there are times that we seek attention just to get what we want. Said want could be an affection or just to be noticed on what we have been doing. If someone then would positively react to our wants, it gives us a feeling of satisfaction.

On the other hand, God also seeks our attention, it could be that we are experiencing problems and hard times. Maybe God allowed it to happen so that we could call to Him for help. God wants us to be His friend whom we could rely on any time in times of good times and bad times.

Should we give God our precious attention? Definitely, He is just around the corner knocking in our hearts and waiting for us to give Him our undivided attention. For Jesus said in Revelation 3:20 “Look, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my call and open the door, I will come into you and have supper with you, and you with me.” Surely, God will be delighted with us if we should notice His calling. And as a reward, He will give us the desires of our hearts. Remember what is said in Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

“When we pay attention, whatever we are doing… is transformed and becomes part of our spiritual path.” – Rick Fields