They had never seen it before.
But they weren’t afraid.
Between us, Laura and Andrew and Gary and I have several unusual cats. They do farm cat things, like: catch mice, rats, voles, snakes, and bring their treasures to us. They climb the trees and pounce down scaring the dogs. They love to curl up in hidden cozy spots for a nap.
But two of them really like water.
One has a two-color face of tan and black, split down the middle, and is called, of course, Face. The other is Mardi who is a calico of swirled black, white, and tan. These two like to flirt at the edge of water of the little pond by our home and explore the ripples and leaves they find there.
There is a cedar branch that hangs over the pond and drips into it. Face likes to carefully creep down the branch until she gets to a branch she can nestle into. Then she goes to sleep. She is very comfortable with the pond and spends lots of time around it.
During the cold spell, the cats went down to the pond as usual, but found it frozen over!
This was a surprise for them!
They gently tested the ice and began to walk carefully across the edges of the pond. Not having any problem, they sped up. Now they slipped and slid, catching themselves to balance on their way across the ice.
I think they encouraged each other! They seemed happy to explore this new puzzle they found. Laura was watching them and got a video of their progress and exploration.
Then one of the older kittens, Missy, a black and grey tuxedo cat, decided to join her aunts. Off she went. Padding from the pond edge onto the cold ice.
Laura called her back, but Missy kept going toward the bigger cats.
Suddenly she hit a softer spot in the ice! Down she went, paws waving and clutching at the air!
Laura quickly stepped in the pond edge and fished out the explorer, who was wet and shivering now.
“I was afraid she would go under the ice, and I couldn’t get to her!,” Laura said, as she took the kitten into the house to dry her off. “I couldn’t stand to think of her drowning right there in the pond we see every day!”
Rescued!
Being curious led to a dangerous situation for the fluffy little kitten. Of course, she had no idea of what ice was or that it could break and land her in icy water.
We have to be careful, too—-of course we aren’t vulnerable as kittens and cats, but we can get carried away by a new adventure, challenge, or idea and get lost in it finding ourselves in danger.
Psalm 37:23-24 tells us: “The Lord directs the steps of the Godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” And Proverbs 16:9: “We can make our plans, but he Lord determines our steps.”
Let’s watch our steps in this New Year and be sure we are following God’s plan for us!
