The Cats and the Ancient Chinese Vase

 

A man wanders into a small antique shop in San Francisco. Mostly it's cluttered with knickknacks and junk. On the floor, however, he notices what looks like an ancient Chinese vase. On closer inspection it turns out to be a priceless relic from the Ming dynasty whose value is beyond calculating. It is worth everything else in the store put together.

The owner clearly has no idea about the value of this possession, because it's filled with milk and the cat's drinking out of it. The man sees an opportunity for the deal of a lifetime. He cleverly strategizes a method to obtain the vase for a fraction of its worth.

"That's an extraordinary cat you have," he says to the owner. "How much would you sell her for?"

"Oh, the cat's not really for sale," said the owner. "She keeps the store free of mice."

"I really must have her," the man countered. "Tell you what--I'll give you a hundred dollars for her."

"She's not really worth it," laughed the owner, "but if you want her that badly, she's yours."

"I need something to feed her from as well," continued the man. "Let me throw in another ten dollars for that saucer she's drinking out of."

"Oh, I could never do that. That saucer is actually an ancient Chinese vase from the Ming dynasty. It is my prized possession, whose worth is beyond calculation. Funny thing, though; since we've had it, I've sold seventeen cats."

A Valuable Lesson Taught By A Kitten

A little gray kitten taught me a valuable lesson on drawing closer to God.

By Oleeta J. Takao, Birmingham, Alabama

I used to have trouble keeping my mind from wandering and from worrying about my problems during my morning meditations. No matter how hard I tried my quiet time would have stressful moments where I couldn't feel God's comfort.  Then one day when I was feeling restless and cranky I heard our silver kitten crying at my feet.


I tried to pick him up and put him in my lap where I could soothe him, but he would have none of it. He shrieked and scratched, then squirmed from my grasp. 


I was annoyed. Doesn't he see, I thought, that I want to comfort him?


Then a small voice seemed to answer: It's like you and God. He wants to hold you to comfort you, but sometimes you are so frantic that He cannot.


After that, I decided to try a little exercise during my daily prayer time. I began envisioning myself crawling up into God's lap. As I snuggled close to Him, I felt His strong arms enfold me. Then, taking a deep breath, I imagined that the power of God was flowing into my body. If a worry came to mind, I leaned my head against His great heart and listened. Slowly all the distortions in my thinking began to dissolve.


At last, I felt the unity with God that I had been seeking.