Starbuck, our adopted cat loves to dive for butterflies near our patio. This is so anoying to Richard, my husband, as he loves to watch the butterflies on our flowers. A beautiful butterfly ventures by and up goes our big handsome cat. As much as Richard loves Starbuck, he becomes agressive at reprimanding him for his butterfly appetite.  Mocha, his sister calmly watches the chase and the stern talks.

Recently Jason, my "middle" son came by after church to have lunch with us. Afterward we settled down  outside to read the paper and enjoy Sunday afternoon conversation about the week past. Starbuck made his appearance and strutted by as we each took a moment to give him a pat and hold him. That contented him and he lay by my chair. I thought he was asleep when suddenly he lunged in the air for the butterfly treat that flittered by to join us. 

"What a leap," Jason laughed, "he almost got it!"

"But he missed it completely, Richard cheered. Jason laughed again, "You're right!"

That funny Sunday afternoon incident made me start thinking  in a more serious direction. Have you ever really thought about the word, "almost"? You have probably heard someone say about their marriage, "We almost made it work." We hear athletes say, "We almost won that game." We hear business men say, "I almost closed the deal." We hear shaken people say, "The storm almost destroyed our home." Starbuck almost caught the butterfly. But he missed it completely. 

A sad statement to hear is, "He almost became a Christian." Almost is not in God's vocabulary. A miss is a miss in God's eyes. . In Acts 26:28 Paul urged King Agrippa to believe in God. King Agrippa's words: 

                                   "Almost you persuade me to be a Christian."
 
There is no record of the king ever asking God to be a part of his life. 

Many people  do not understand the significance of this very important decision.  We are on the earth for a short period of time. You might say we are here to decide where we want to spend eternity. It's not enough to "believe" there is a God.  James 2:19 in the Holy Bible tells us, 

                                  "You believe that God is one. You do well; 
                                     the demons also believe, and shudder." 

This says that believing is not enough. We have to invite Him into our lives. He has never forced His way in. It's totally our choice! (See "Faith Check" for more information.) 

Starbuck is devastated when he "almost" catches a butterfly. He will try again! But with us, our destination is set if we remain "almost" persuaded to have a relationship with God.  Joshua of the Bible was totally persuaded as to what he should do with God,  quite unlike King Agrippa. His words are recorded in Joshua 24:15

                                  "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, 
                                    choose for yourselves today whom you will serve....
                                    but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 

 If you have not taken care of this important part of living, it's time.  Don't be almost persuaded. You will miss God completely.  Make your choice and start to live.

                                   And Now, The Rest Of The Story

My son, Russ,  passed away suddenly last year.(See "My Little Boy, The Man" under The Sanctuary.) The year was filled with grief and many tears.  Later in the year we went to an adoption center and found a little tabby kitten and also a little yellow one, but we only wanted one. What's a person to do?! We were told they were brother and sister. How could we separate them? We didn't!   

Once home, it was time to pick names.  Because of Starbucks being a favorite place for my son, Russ, that became the name of our male kitten.  We decided to stay with the theme for his sister.  Mocha  it was!  

About 8 weeks ago, a little unwanted puppy came into our life by the way of my "middle" son, Jason. What a cutie she is!  Jason's  favorite Starbucks drink is Caramel Macchiato. You guessed it!  That's our new puppy's name.  To make things simple, we call her Macchi (Mockie) for short.  Neither of us has ever had three animals in our life, but what a treat they are! Needless to say, Starbuck and Mocha are not happy about the new puppy.  However, there is no way they can stand the sight of Richard "walking the dog" .  It has been their habit to go with him wherever he goes. So they follow close behind!

Loss of a child brings overwhelming pain.  It's soothing to hold our cuddly creatures as I reminisce of the blessing of having Russ in my life,  if only for a while.  I'm glad to know we were both persuaded  to spend eternity in the same place. 

 "I'm blessed indeed, The world is mine; 
Oh God,  forgive me when I whine."   
Red Foley, singer