Baxter is on cat weightwatchers. He goes to the vet for a weigh-in every month. We are making progress, but it hasn’t been easy.
I had to reduce the portions that Baxter eats twice a day from a third of a cup of kibble to a quarter of a cup. However, the vet told me that I had to do this gradually, because if you cut an older cat’s diet suddenly, it could develop “fatty liver” which is the precursor to big health problems. So I tried to figure out how to make this reduction in food at a well measured and accurate pace. The measuring cup was too easy to over or under do. Then I got this idea. Measure out Baxter’s former portion of kibble and gradually remove some in a controlled way. So I began to count the number of kibble I would remove at each feeding. I needed to get down to 25 less, but I began with 3 for a few days, then 5,8,10,12, 15,. . .to 25. It took about six weeks to get to the desired portion size, but it was worth it. At his first weighing after a month, Baxter gained 2 oz, but the next month, he lost 5 oz. There are no signs of any health problems , and he has become a bit more active—while a little more cranky from less food.
Counting kibble was tedious and inconvenient at times. I told myself that others wouldn’t believe that I was doing this. Why did I do it? I want Baxter to thrive and live as long and as good a life as he can. But these wishes aren’t realized without a cost. I have to care for him, if I care about him.
The same holds for our faith in God which we experience in each other. Faith is first not an abstract idea about the source of the universe or of the rules by which we live. It is primarily a relationship we have with Jesus Christ that we experience in our relationships with each other. Relationships make demands upon us. They take our time and effort to help, to celebrate and commiserate together, to plan events, to express our concern, to share our joys and sorrows. They take care to respect each other and to be sensitive to each other’s priorities and soft spots. All this demands patience with each other. Sometimes things get heavy before we start losing the baggage that weighs us down. Honest, genuine relationships don’t happen quickly. We have to build trust, sometimes by trial and error. So trust needs forgiveness to grow and mature. It can all get very tedious and inconvenient, but it’s worth it.
Hidden in the struggle and effort to love each other is the God, Who is Love. He is the source of those attitudes and values that make us one—generosity, forgiveness, goodness, helpfulness, positive regard, gratitude. We cannot sustain these qualities in our relationships on our own. We need to draw on a higher power, a greater good, a transcendent love unto death to keep us caring about each other. Faith allows us to
see these things and bring them to bear in the way we live with each other. That is how Christ is present in our midst.
Baxter is on the way to a leaner life after some careful calculations to get him there. As Jesus shows us, we can be on the way to eternal life, if we are careful with the way we treat each other. We can count on
that.
