Consider It Pure Joy; aka Your Problem is Your Gift

 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1:2&3
 

Last night, before I turned off the lamp to go to sleep, I clicked my tongue and coaxed our calico kitty, Jordan, up on the bed.  I stroked her soft back until she started purring and curled up by my side.  This little cat has become more dear to me than I ever thought possible.  I’m now horrified to admit that there was a time when, considering Jordan, I thought, ‘This is a temporary problem.  Cats don’t live forever.’

I’m a tried and true dog lover, NOT a cat person.  Almost two years ago, when Jeff and I got married, I gained two cats.  The first night I spent at my new home, I realized cats know nothing of boundaries.  They were all over everything I owned and all up in my personal space.  I woke up in the middle of the night multiple times to Jordan trying to sleep next to me, and once with her sniffing my hair.  I was incensed.  On the phone with my mom the next day, I vented about it and consoled myself with the idea that the cats would eventually pass away.  Since then, Jordan’s counterpart, Payton, has died and I deeply feel the loss.

This is because these cats – my big problem – became my gift.  Today, Jordan slept on my lap as I typed and I stopped to just pet her and thank God for her.  As a new stay-at-home mother, she has become my faithful companion.  Jordan follows me around during the day, and is a part of the rhythm of this new life.  She makes me laugh by taking ownership of Luke’s stuff – his play mat with the hanging toys, especially.  Luke’s crying tends to stress me out.  It seems like God has a way of placing Jordan right next to me when he’s got a good scream going.  She purrs contentedly, inviting me to pet her, almost as if she’s modeling how to be calm in the storm.  The Brooke of two years ago could not have conceived of typing this lengthy homage to a cat.  The weird cat who sniffed my hair in the middle of the night, too!  But again, it’s because my problem is now my gift.

In James 1, we are told to consider our problems “pure joy”.  Most people can think of some issue in their life that God used for good.  Sometimes our problems create character in us, or sometimes – like with me and Jordan – we come to know the problem more deeply and can see it (her) in a new, more loving light. 

Here’s the thing:  in my experience, it’s always a reflective, looking back sort of revelation. 

What if I could see a problem as a gift before I know why or how it’s a good thing?  What if on that first night of experiencing living with cats, I had decided to have a joyful outlook on the situation, like the James verse?

I can’t go back to that cat fiasco night, but I definitely have some problems right now.  There’s one in particular that just doesn’t seem to have a positive way out.  So, I don’t understand how it will be a gift – whether God will teach me something, or have me meet someone who’s also struggling, or whatever – but I can go ahead and be joyful that this problem exists in my life.  I started thanking God that I’m struggling in this area.  I stopped trying to guess how He’s going to make it better.  It feels really, really strange to not put all my mental energy into fixing the problem (like waiting for the cats to die, or training them to not lay on my clean laundry, back in the day…).  It doesn’t really matter how.  I actually believe that at some point in the future, I will look back and be grateful that this problem was a part of my life.  The answer isn’t here yet, but the joy is. 

Now, I’m going to go curl up in my cozy bed and go to sleep.  Jordan’s already got a spot warm for me.