I used to tell people that my Maine Coon cat taught me more about God’s love than most pastors.  They would laugh, but hear me out.  Nidas (short for Leonidas) was selfish, greedy, vicious, mean, destructive.  He peed everywhere.  He is the worst financial decision I’ve ever made.  To this day, I still have his scratch marks on my arms.  He attacked my mom after he realized she didn’t have her protection stick.  He also scratched my newborn baby daughter.

But I loved him. 

He was like a son to me before my human one arrived.  Living out Road to Perdition, we took road trips together up and down the East Coast.  He slept at my feet for a good portion of his life.

When he was dying, I bawled at the vet’s office.  It was the first time I had cried in eight years.

I loved him so much.

And the part about God?  I’ve thought many times that I’m like Nidas to Him.  With so many sins and flaws.  Yet loved.

Nidas was my cat.  And I loved him.