Baby teeth, shaky crawling, socializing & the human condition...

It's actually pretty fun to check in on the kittens each day to see their new stages of progress. I wish they could stay precious and little forever, but every day they are getting bigger, more cat-like (and less rat or opossum-like) and more alive. Like today, I spent at least 15 minutes with my eyes glued to them while Tabitha ate the food I put out for her. They are moving a whole lot more now than they had before. Simon is even behaving more like John Fernandez, with all its turning and attempts to crawl around on wobbly legs. It is seriously hilarious to watch. Their eyes are more open, as they constantly look around at all the foreign things nearby their little cubby hole home inside the shed. I frequently find Tobias on his back, playfully pawing the air with his unretracted claws. It's so adorable. I'm reminded of what Brian discussed last night in leadership class... how something small, yet new and amazing, can inspire him and remind him of this God who is so much larger and greater than understood to be before. I look at Tabitha eat and her kittens squirm about, and I'm reminded that God designed all of this. He thought of the idea to include cats in the natural world. He came up with the developmental pattern they would follow. He formed the mother-baby bond between them, perhaps as a way to show us humans that this bond is so strong and right that even critters adhere to it instinctually. I even meditated on the fact that Tabitha is basically all alone in raising her kittens (she doesn't even need our help really) because I guess the natural order dictates her to be. There is no "father" in the picture. His job and purpose is done. He moves on to impregnate the next female cat he can get his claws on. It made me sadly laugh at how unnaturally similar that is to human males. See, people are supposed to be different. God made us in his image and gave us institutions that are intended to shape our relationship with others. We are special to him in this way, as evidenced by his greater effort to provide for us and teach us. God gave us the gift of marriage to safeguard the virginity and dignity of women and place upon men the mantle of self-control and righteous character. But we reject this time and again, as lust grips our heart and rebellion grows from the seed of sin within us.

Like for instance, the girls' mentor group I lead has brought out some painful stories of sexual abuse, assault and victimization. This kind of traumatic experience is horrible in and of itself, but then coupled with the fact that these girls are only in middle school it seems even more monstrously unjust and depressing. I believe more and more every day that the only hope women have for a different life is for men to be transformed by Jesus. That's why I'm not so gung-ho anymore for programs that target "at-risk" women, teaching them skills or parenting tips or some other social tool. That's great, don't get me wrong, but it's severely inadequate to actually change anything for them. Because how does that prevent their husband from beating them? Or their boyfriend from sexually assaulting them at knife-point? Or their 15-year-old uncle from sneaking into their room to rape their 11-year-old sister? Brian is right... we need to be leaders who speak to the hearts of people, calling them to change and see the greater picture that there is a God who exists, who cares and who loves them. Both the vulnerable, victimized women and the violent, terrorizing men. I don't know how God paradoxically loves both the oppressed and the oppressor, but he does so beautifully and powerfully. And his ambassadors in the world are called to be the same way, swiftly reaching out to the hurting with unparalleled compassion and to the attacker with inconceivable grace. The image of a double-edged sword that lands with justice and grace becomes a reality in these moments of pain and suffering. The God of the Bible is big enough to embrace both sides (in different ways) to redeem and restore. I see a plethora of programs and organizations to assist and counsel abused women, but to stop there is to show people only half of the gospel. What about the men? Where is the calling out for genuine repentance and conviction straight to the heart? Society's answer is to put them in jail. Yet even that fails, time and time and time again. A guy rapes a girl (like the example mentioned above) and IF he is reported and arrested, more often than not he is let out in less than a month. Apparently our society doesn't even think sexually assaulting a young woman (a child for crying out loud!) is that terrible or deserving of punishment. And even if a man is kept locked up, what does that do for his soul? He doesn't sit there and think about what he's done as if he were a 3-year-old put in time out. He doesn't all of a sudden have a change of heart and feel deep remorse for what he's done simply because he's been given some time to meditate on it. Sure, there are some who may fall into this category, but I highly doubt that is the norm. More frequently, I imagine, the guy fosters bitterness in his heart for being caught and having to serve time. He may even want revenge. He doesn't obtain a heart of flesh that suddenly respects women and desires to treat them as God would have them be treated. No, jail is no lasting solution at all (assuming offenders even get in there in the first place). It is good in that it keeps these violent and perverted men off the streets to assault, rape or molest again, but that's basically it. What we need is godly men who love Jesus and want to obey him to share this alternate way of living and being with other men who they know and meet. That really is the only lasting solution that we as followers of Christ can offer to women and to male offenders. And it doesn't even have to be that extreme, of men raping women. I'm sure we don't run into that situation as often as statistics would indicate we should. In Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership it mentioned how one's dark side develops and how it can negatively influence a person's life if left unrecognized and unchecked. It also made the assertion that every person has a unique dark side that affects them. Men are no different. A combination of childhood experiences and traumas have in some degree led them to be the way they are and act the way they do. Men are taught to be womanizers, objectifying and dominating women, and most of the time this is so subtle that men often say, "That's not true, I'm not a sexist." Right, and no one is ever a racist either. It's usually not blatant, but it is obviously there. If you are a woman, and especially if you are a woman of God who has had her eyes open to the realities of the evils that plague females, it is as clear as day. I want for this clarity and discernment to touch the lives of men more fully and powerfully so that Christ's kingdom can reign both tangibly in the lives of women and internally in the lives of men.

These are the kinds of things that staring at a delightful set of kittens with their mom can cause me to contemplate. Like Jimmy mentioned last night (about professional bowlers), there is always more than meets the eye. There are connections and insights to be gained from combining a first-grader mind-set with a good leader's ability to integrate seemingly unrelated truths or concepts. I love it. And by God's grace I hope it continues :)