{"id":130,"date":"2019-04-20T21:28:42","date_gmt":"2019-04-21T01:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/?p=130"},"modified":"2019-04-20T21:37:19","modified_gmt":"2019-04-21T01:37:19","slug":"a-personal-journal-entry-reflections-on-riley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/?p=130","title":{"rendered":"A Personal Journal Entry: Reflections On Riley"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/CFB28856-A356-4413-9A05-5F6DCDABD379-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"132\" data-link=\"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/?attachment_id=132#main\" class=\"wp-image-132\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/CFB28856-A356-4413-9A05-5F6DCDABD379-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/CFB28856-A356-4413-9A05-5F6DCDABD379-300x225.jpeg 300w, http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/CFB28856-A356-4413-9A05-5F6DCDABD379-768x576.jpeg 768w, http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/CFB28856-A356-4413-9A05-5F6DCDABD379-1272x954.jpeg 1272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Meet Riley, our pretty much perfect toilet-trained cat. <br>We love our fur-baby.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve been thinking about Riley and how much I tell him he\u2019s loved.  Riley is our cat.  He may have a small inkling about what being loved means but as a cat and therefore on a different plain of thinking, feeling, etc., he is limited in truly knowing he\u2019s loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But no matter how little he\u2019s able to grasp that, I continue telling him that he is loved \u2014 he\u2019s a good boy \u2014 over and over every day.  I think on some level that has shaped him and his personality as a cat: he\u2019s social, loves people, is relaxed, asks for treats\/food\/water, without any fear of rejection.  He trusts us to provide for him and care for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, he sheds hair ALL OVER THE PLACE!  Sometimes he makes a mess.  Sometimes he takes things too far in his playing.  Sometimes he is a bully with our other cat or complains when his nails need trimming.  Often times he tries to take my spot when I momentarily vacate a seat to get up to get something.  Yet he\u2019s still loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think I\u2019m like Riley&#8230;except Riley has a greater understanding of what it means to be loved and to live confidently, freely and joyfully in that reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I struggle to know and accept that I am loved.  Often, I think all God sees is the mess that I make, is disappointed when I don\u2019t act in a way that pleases Him, is sad when I try to take His place (that He never vacates).  Most of all though&#8230;He just loves me and tells me over and over again even though I think and feel on a different plain than Him&#8230;He is constantly affirming it. To Him, I am a good boy&#8230;and I am loved&#8230;unconditionally.  Even though I don\u2019t get how much He loves me He is faithful to provide for me in numerous ways.  In those moments I do manage a small, small glimpse into what God\u2019s amazing love looks like my mind and heart get overwhelmed.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you for continuing to say it, God.  Thank you for continually telling and affirming to me that I am loved. Thank you for seeing me amid my mess and letting me know I matter to You \u2014 You see me and know me and treasure me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve been thinking about Riley and how much I tell him he\u2019s loved. Riley is our cat. He may have a small inkling about what being loved means but as a cat and therefore on a different plain of thinking, &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/?p=130\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Etmg-26","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=130"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135,"href":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions\/135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.developingdisciple.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}