2025-12-28: Hardships and love of God

When I notice that something is wrong with our cat, I put him into a carrier - which he hates. Then I take him to an unfamiliar place, where strangers handle him on a cold metal table, stick a thermometer in his butt, shave his paw, and painfully draw blood from his vein. After that, I take him home, open his mouth, and force an unpleasant, bitter pill down his throat. The cat struggles; I restrain him, squeeze him, and make him swallow. And this repeats, morning and evening, for ten days.

From the cat’s point of view, I am torturing him for ten days straight. Why would a loving cat owner treat their pet this way? Did the cat misbehave and anger its owner? Has the owner stopped loving the cat? Does the owner want to hurt the cat?

From my point of view, I am saving the cat's life with antibiotics prescribed by the vet.

Perhaps our life’s suffering looks exactly the same from God’s point of view. God may be saving us, but at our level of development - like foolish cats - we cannot understand it. We resent God for our difficult lives, yet perhaps these hardships are given to rescue us. Just as I force my cat to swallow bitter, unpleasant medicine in order to save his life.

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