Don't Be a Bubblehead

Some people have pets that just lay in their laps and snuggle. We have characters. Our latest additions to our family are no different. Bonnie and Clyde, two kittens Ashley got for Christmas, are aptly named, as they are quite the trouble makers. They play the piano at night, and between me and you, their concerto needs some work. They rearrange things for us, like ALL the books from the bookshelf that they decided looked nicer spread out on the floor in the hall. And woe to the person who leaves papers laying anywhere, because those slide on the floor, and therefore, may or may not ever be found again, wherever the kittens got bored. I'd say nothing they do surprises me anymore, but Wednesday Bonnie managed to surprise me.

Ashley and I were on the way home from piano lessons when Tim called, laughing hysterically to let me know Bonnie was in a predicament. I arrived home to find her lying in Ashley's room, happily playing with toys....with a hamster ball stuck on her head. The gerbil was safely in his cage, but it seems Bonnie decided to stick her head all the way in the ball next to the cage, just to check it out. Before we got home, she had tried to visit with Psycho Kitty, who generally is her buddy. But seeing the bubble headed monster coming at him made him completely lose his mind. He fled like the hounds of hell were after him, and Bonnie gave chase. Psycho Kitty finally made it Tim's bed, and poor Bubble Headed Bonnie couldn't make the jump. So she wandered off to play. I found her lying in the floor, playing with toys and with Clyde looking at her in pity. She was happy to scratch at her toys, but got aggravated when she couldn't get them to her mouth to bite. Clyde kept patting her head, or her bubble, confused. The whole situation was hilarious.

Before you think we are just cruel, yes, Tim did his best to get the ball off before I got home, but it was stuck fast. I oiled Bonnie's head and neck, but it still wouldn't slide off. Finally, we had to cut the ball off her head. She took all of this in stride, like it was just another day. The worst part of the ordeal for her was having to get a bath to wash the oil out of her fur. I must say I didn't particularly enjoy that either. Ever bathe a cat? It's like juggling a running chainsaw!

I wonder what Bonnie saw from within the ball. While it is transparent, it is cheap plastic, kinda wavy, and it has air slots in sections, so the view is segmented. I can't imagine it is a clear view. And yet, it didn't seem to bother her. I began thinking about how many people have a distorted worldview and how they don't notice it. Your worldview is very important. It is the lens through which you view everything and it affects your understanding, interpretation, and reactions. A person with a humanistic worldview will see things things quite differently than one with a Christian worldview. And if you see God as a benevolent grandfather type, you will think differently than someone who sees God as aloof, or vengeful, or unknowable.

Because your worldview affects so much of your life, it is important that you know what you believe, and why you believe that. Is it because it's truth that you learned in the Bible, or is it because it's how your family believes? Too many people have been led astray by just going with the flow, not making sure that what they believed was founded in the Bible's truth. Believing something sincerely doesn't make it truth. As wonderful as your own parent's may have been, that doesn't make their views truth. Just because your favorite preacher said it, doesn't make it truth. Be certain that your belief system does not contain flaws, because it really does color every decision you make. Are you certain your view is not distorted?