By Peggy Trotter

I own the world’s meanest cat. Seriously. When I try to pet her, she bites me. Every time. When I hold her, she has a biting, scratching fit.  And I have to admit, a few weeks ago I was ready to send her to the river with my shotgun-wielding husband with instructions to come back alone. The man, not the cat.

Oh, sure. You feel bad for the animal, but then she hasn’t repeatedly hung from your bare leg with her claws. Or climbed you as you were walked by. My skin is littered with her claw marks. I’m considering adding pin cushion pants and oven mitts as my normal attire. What’s her name, you ask? Let’s just say we now call her, “Minion.”

It wasn’t always like this. I got her when she was just four weeks old this past July. She was so tiny and so cute. She didn’t know how to feed herself yet, so I painstakingly fed her kitten-replacement milk through a syringe. I awoke in the middle of the night to care for her, cheered over her use of the potty box, let her sleep in the curve of my neck. I, in short, adored her.

She, however, had other ideas. Each day she became more and more independent and rough until she was quite unhandleable. And I cried. Literally. She wasn’t the pet I wanted her to be. And for some reason, this led my thoughts to something a little more serious. Is that how God views me? Not the human He wanted me to be?

Did I start out at first so small and so cute, and then grow more and more independent and tough until I was unhandleable? Unusable?  Did God adore me, hand feed me, and then weep at my self-indulgence? Would he have preferred a quick end of me to rid Himself of such a mean, ungrateful individual? Hmmm. I must say it gave me pause.

With much relief I can say, “no.”

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, —Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NIV

Praise God. He loves me despite my unlovable ways.

Well, I still have my cat. We’re, “retraining,” so to speak. Not an easy task. But then, God is constantly, “retraining,” me to love, forgive, trust, obey—just imagine an unending list. Yet with Jesus as a filter, I, a dirty sinner, look sinless to God. And you can too. Retrain, my friend. Every day. Sheath your claws and be adored by the Creator who gave you life.

Look, Minion looks almost, well, tame.

Peggy Trotter is an award winning Christian author.

She has been writing something for over 30 years. The empty-nest syndrome set her to groping for a new direction, and wow, did God answer! Year of Jubilee, a Christian Historical Romance set in southern Indiana, debuted in April of 2015 through Prism Book Group. A second, a Contemporary Romance entitled, Reviving Jules, just released on Oct. 9th, 2015 as well. She loves to reveal God’s miracles through the world’s underdogs and mix in a little love, a dash of romantic heat, and of course, a happy ending.

She took third place in the Indiana Golden Opportunity Contest in 2013 in the Inspirational Category, and won the coveted Genesis Award in 2014 from the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) in the Novella Category with her entry, Spun, a Historical Romance.

God blessed her with a wonderful husband who cooks and helps clean while supporting her crazy dreams. She has two incredible grown kids plus two fabulous in-law kids, and two rays of sunshine, commonly called grandchildren. Seldom does she stand still, but when she does, it’s to praise her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Creator of all gifts and Bestower of all blessings!

Her new book, Reviving Jules can be purchased by clicking on the link to her website below.

To order her book and to learn more about Peggy, visit her website at: http://www.peggytrotter.com/

I can’t wait to read Reviving Jules.  Peggy writes “Christian Romance with a Dash of Heat.”  Thank you Peggy for visiting my garden. Where seeds are sown, the fruit of His spirit blooms.

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