This is my adventurous seminary cat named Yara. I call her my seminary cat because when I moved to PA in August of 2017, I missed having animals around. I grew up on a farm and there has never been a time in my life when I did not have a pet from a dog to a miniature horse. In November of 2017 I went into a local pet shop to help a friend to get supplies for their cats when I saw this very tiny, big eared kitten staring at me, I knew right then and there I was going to have my first pet cat. The next day I returned and left with a 4 pound, 4-month-old fluffball. At the time I was in my first year of seminary and one of my class was Hebrew.  So, I looked into this beautiful language and found that the Hebrew word for moon is Yara.

Over the last 4 years this cat has brought me so many laughs and headshakes. Yara is a 4-legged fluffball that is full of personality. She has taught me so much about adapting and embracing her surroundings, having fun, and loving those around her unconditionally.

In the picture above, Yara finally successfully made it into the cardboard box without it tipping over. This is one of the many ways she has learned to embrace her surroundings. This box came from a gift I received in celebration of my graduation from Seminary. Her first attempt in the box ended with the box tipping over and her not getting in. The second time she approached very slow with intentional steps into the box. This time she was successful in getting in, settled down, and took a nice nap.

While watching Yara slowly get into the box, calculating each step she took, made me think of times in my life when my first attempt did not work out the way I had planned. Just like everyone, there have been times when my plans have ended like Yara’s first attend, with everything going sideways. But when she straightened herself up and relooked at the situation she chose to try again. Sometimes when we get knocked off balance we tend to not try again. We accept defeat and go around or stop all together. But when we pick ourselves back up, or catch our balance, we can take another look at the situation. And when we relook, we might just see the situation from a different viewpoint. Realizing that if we try again and try it a different way, we just might succeed.

We find that we have the courage to try again. The courage to continue to move forward. The courage to embrace the situation, good or bad. This has been a lesson that was put to the test in my 4 years at Palmer. Learning to try again, learning how to approach from a different angle, learning that if I do not succeed the first time it does not mean that I am worth less.

It simply means to try again. When we fall and get back up it makes us stronger. If we learn to embrace the situations in front of us, they can result in wonderful warm naps cuddled inside of a box (well maybe not inside of a box). I encourage you to try again. The world is not an easy place but if we continue to stand up after we fall, and call on the mighty name of Jesus there is no end to what each of us can accomplish.