Psalm 103

I grew up in rural, northern Wisconsin where the summers were short, the winters were harsh, and where pets were not allowed in the house no matter the weather.

My sister had a cat named Blondie that didn’t make it through the long, cold winter of my eighteenth year.  While my sister was extremely upset over Blondie’s death, I wasn’t much for cats – especially my sister’s cats – and probably wasn’t very sympathetic.  That may be why I was given the responsibility of disposing of the body.

Now, think about it.  It’s the middle of a very long, very cold Wisconsin winter.  What am I supposed to do with a dead cat?  I dumped Blondie into a cardboard box and set it behind the driver’s seat in the 1962 Ford Falcon my brother and I drove.  But, you know, somehow I didn’t get around to taking care of the cat.
So, for the next few months, I drove around with a dead cat in a cardboard box in the backseat of my car.

Now, before you get all grossed out, remember it was winter.  It never got above freezing, even in the Falcon. I tried not to think about Blondie and I rarely even sneaked a peek at the box.  But, still, in the back of my mind I knew there was a dead cat in the car and sooner or later I’d have to dispose of it.  I’ll wait ‘til later.

Spring rolled around.  Things began to thaw.  I began thinking more often about Blondie riding around right behind me.  The thought began weighing on my mind.  “I‘ve got to get rid of this cat!  But I really don’t want to deal with it.  I’ll wait.”

Sounds pretty ridiculous, doesn’t it?  How foolish to drive around for months with a dead cat in your backseat!  Well, you’re right.  But have you ever driven around through life carrying a blunder…a secret sin…a burden from your past?  It’s something you’ve tried to ignore.  You never look at it and try not to think about it.  You certainly don’t want to deal with it.  And the longer you wait, the more rotten it gets.  You’re terrified that soon it’s going to start stinking up your life and people are going to discover you’re not what you pretend to be.  You wish it would just go away!

Well, whatever it is you’re carting around, afraid to deal with, isn’t it time you got rid of it?  In Psalm 103, David gives praise to the Lord “who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.”  Later he exclaims, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the wet, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Today, why don’t you identify the “dead cat” in your life, deal with it, confess it to the Lord and give it to Him for disposal.  As far as the east is from the west – it’s gone!