Cat On a Pole

We’d been in Williams Lake, British Columbia less than a month when we had an unlikely encounter with a cat, an experience which pictures the contrast between God’s glory and human glory. This post wraps up a three-part series which began with What Do You Say to a Weeping Stranger.

Home was a 12×50 foot trailer we had hauled 2300 miles from Nebraska. We installed it at the Kendall Acres mobile home park high above the town. Our assignment—Alkali Lake Reserve—lay forty miles south on the Dog Creek Road. Two or three times a week we spent an hour each way bumping over gravel roads that exacted revenge on our 1972 Olds Cutlass for the pounding of log trucks.

One November day we were maybe a mile from home, weaving the curvy road between homesteads and small farms cut out of the woods, when we rounded another bend and spotted a cat perched at the top of a utility pole. When we returned a couple of hours later the feline was still there. And still there two or three days later when we set out for Alkali again.

Williams Lake is 200 miles north of the border. November in Williams Lake is like January in Wichita–near freezing. Something had to be done.

The firefighter who answered my call to the fire station rebuffed my request. The cat would come down when it was ready. But we weren’t convinced, decided to attempt a rescue with our own resources.

How do you get a cat off a pole?

I scrummaged a short piece of lightweight pipe, wire and rope. At the scene, I cut a sapling long enough to reach the cat. To its smaller end I lashed the pipe with the wire, pushed a loop of rope through the pipe from the bottom, and tied the short end of the rope to the pole below the pipe. The long end hung free.

We heaved the pole to the cat. After several tries I snagged the body of the cat with the loop, pulled it snug, and tugged the creature from its perch. That pull set the high end of pole, feline attached, into an arc, which made it impossible to slow the cat’s descent. It hit the ground a little hard, but unhurt. We rushed to free her from the rope.

What does a cat do in such a situation? Dash for the woods, of course. That’s what I expected. But I was wrong. As soon as the rope was off, that feline plastered herself against my ankles, rubbing and purring to show her gratitude. In fact she insisted on going home with us and hung around for about 24 hours before moving on.

The cat’s response surprised me. I’ve thought about it many times–a fun experience and fun story.

But not as fun as the Seoul story. And that story is not as amazing as God’s cosmic rescue of His elect, including Gary Brumbelow. Less amazing in at least four ways.

God, the original hero

God gave us the privilege of helping the Russian family; however, anyone could have done it. … But only God could rescue a lost world.

We rescued them from a temporary difficulty. I don’t know what would have happened, but the consequences would not have been eternal. … Which is exactly what the consequences are in the cosmic rescue God effected for lost sinners.

We spent little to help these strangers from Russia–about 30 minutes of our time and not enough calories to measure. … But God gave his beloved Son; Jesus laid down his life for our rescue.

Finally, the Russian woman and her family were strangers. … But “God showed his love for us in that while we were enemies, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

That’s enough fodder to ponder for a long time. And, beyond time, forever. Praise be to God.