My first World Race travel day arrived with the most beautiful morning sky. As I packed up last minute gear for training camp, the 5:30am sky sparkled with stars. Yet this sky wasn’t just any typical midnight blue, clear, morning sky…the second lunar eclipse of 2014 (in a series of 4 lunar eclipses with the 3rd and 4th taking place in 2015) hung right above my house in Andover, Ks.
Mid-shove and attempting to close my BIG pack, I’m lost in thought. “How will I ever pack everything I need for a year into this 60 liter pack?”
Dad startled me out of my reverie. “Kate, come here! You’ve got to see this!”
We stepped onto our back patio, and stood in awe of God’s beauty shining above us. Looking up we observed this rusty, red moon rising in the sky. Dad looked over at me and said, “Kate, today marks the start of your World Race journey. Take this as a sign, miracle, and wonder from God. Today only begins the greatness He has in store for you this year.”
Leave it to my yellow, tabby cat Bella to break our moment. As I headed to my room, I heard Dad say, ”Oh, Bella! Kate, look what YOUR cat did!”
I looked over and sure enough she’s hacked up something nasty right in front of the stairs. “Dad, I’ll finish getting ready and clean it up before we leave.”
Here’s the thing, I got lost in my thoughts of making sure I didn’t forget anything. I strapped on my big pack, grabbed my daypack, and headed upstairs to load the car and say goodbye to Mom. Hug, Hug, Kiss, Kiss….then Mom looks over to the stairs. She sees a chunk of cat puke.
“What’s that?” she asks with a bit of ‘grossed out’ in her voice.
“Ugh, Bella…I forgot,” I groaned, “I must have stepped in her puke!”
As I flip over my tennis shoe, I see a thick layer of cat puke embedded in every single crevice and groove of my shoe. What a mess I made with just one step! Sighing, I took off the shoe and intended to clean up with a wet paper towel over the kitchen sink. Without even thinking, Dad swept the shoe out of my hand, took it to the garage sink, washed the sole (keeping the rest of the shoe totally dry), and brought it back completely clean. No trace of cat puke left. In fact, my shoe looked cleaner than when I started. We loaded the car and headed to the airport.
The story could end there. Yet, God’s teaching me to open my eyes and see Him in everyday situations. While waiting for my flight in the DFW airport, I talked to God about the morning. The next thing I know, He taught me the Cat Puke Lesson.
Here’s what I wrote in my journal…“On the way to the airport, You (God) showed me how You are like Dad, but on a WAY bigger scale. How many times have I made a mess of things? Sinned? Done life my own way, and failed? Yet, here You are…my Heavenly Father. All I need to do is trust and believe. When I allow you to sweep in and clean up my mess, Your solution cleans up the mess even better than before the mess was made!
Thanks to the sacrifice of Christ, the sin is totally gone. You’ve forgotten my mistakes, so I don’t have to go on feeling bad or remembering. In Your eyes, they never happened. How my life has change in the last 7 months. Lord, You’ve turned my mess into something beautiful with a better solution and healing than I ever could imagine. That’s the point right? I don’t have to imagine anything because Your ways are so much better than my own.”
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
(Psalms 103:12)
My heart was ready, soft, tender, and humble to receive all the Lord prepared for me at Training Camp.
Stay tuned for more lessons from camp!
Love, Love, Love
Kate
