Guest Post by Author Kelly L. Hartley
Imagine it’s one o’clock in the morning. The darkness is complemented with a soft glow from your curtained bedroom window. You’ve been asleep for several hours, relaxed, in deep comfort. Lying on your back, your arm rests along the side of your body.
Outside a dream, something plops across your wrist. A cold, wet nose touches the warm, tender skin of your arm, beside the sprawled lump. Waking at once, you realize your oh-so-precious kitty has decided he wants you to play fetch, using a fuzzy, half-dead mouse instead of his fuzzy pompom! Instinctively, you flick your wrist and sit up in bed, assuming the cat will chase after the now-flung tidbit.
Once you fumble around and get the light on, Oh-So-Precious Kitty has not pursued the mouse after all, as expected; he’s poised on the foot of the bed, watching your reaction – sitting on his haunches, tail wrapped casually around his fat torso, looking serenely at you as if he doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. As a matter of fact, his half-opened eyes are expressing, “Maybe you should calm down.”
Realizing you had reacted so fast to the dropped mouse, you should’ve accidentally tapped his nose, but you didn’t. He had drawn back quickly because he knew your reaction, wanting out of harm’s way. Wanting to enjoy the show.
We interact with some people who, like my cat, will fling a derogatory comment and hope you embarrass yourself, especially in front of others. There are gobs of times (sorry, still thinking of that half-dead mouse – globs, you know), there are oodles of times when we react impulsively and later wish we hadn’t.
When I’ve had someone toss something at me, e.g. an insult, a questionable story, or hateful material, the best thing I can do is to question the source. Who’s telling me this? Why? What is their endgame? Are they a legitimate source? Is it useful or interesting?
James 1:19 ESV gives an excellent instruction: “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”
After hearing them out, take a step back. Just like my cat, that person may have acted with the same intention of getting a reaction. Take time to think and research, it gives you time to calm down. Then you’ll be able to approach the other in kindness.
By the way, the mouse that was flung, which is my story, must have been playing ‘possum, it got away. Did I say “precious kitty” before? I meant rotten cat! Actually, I love my sweet, preciously rotten, furry, fat, baby boy.
©2024 Kelly L. Hartley
Kelly L. Hartley, a new author, writes Bible studies, devotions, fiction, and poems. She focuses on Bible contradictions for her “Spare Time Musings” on Substack. She’s a member of Ozark Chapter of American Christian Writers and Springfield Writer’s Guild. Social media: Substack, 𝕏, Facebook, Instagram.