story: The Fox and the Cat

The cat and the fox got on well when they first met. Very well – they really ‘hit it off’.’ After a short time, the fox said he liked the cat the cat said she liked the fox.

Happily ever after?

No. From that point on, things started to go downhill. The cat started to act like the fox didn't exist. She turned her back on him, wouldn’t talk with him, and made him feel awkward. Pretty soon after, she told him that actually, she’d changed her mind, and she didn’t like him in that way after all.

The fox was a very well-meaning animal. He always wanted to get on well with people - he thought he'd done something wrong. However, the cat never wanted to talk about it. She avoided talking about anything at all, and the Fox didn’t know why. She continued ignoring and not talking.

Three months down the line, the fox has just spoken to the cat about it. After three months of feeling awkward, it transpires that (and remember, the cat still doesn't want to talk very much about it, so the fox didn't get much out of her), that she was keeping him at arm’s length so that she wouldn’t his hopes up. That because he had felt attracted to her, she rejected any possibility of friendship with him, in case he continued ‘liking’ her.

From the Fox’s perspective, he feels that: This has been belittling to him and immature on her part. She assumed that the fox was incapable of platonic friendship and needed to be forced back ‘with a stick’ as it were. Is that really the case?! He also feels that her way of dealing with the situation has been imprudent: talking about this matter openly would have brought a much more positive resolution, and he imagines that they could be good friends now if they had spoken. Conversely, avoiding it has just brought awkwardness and hurt. He would like to talk to her about these things, but she doesn’t want to talk about it.

(The Fox recognises that this is just his side of the story)

The fox thinks forgiveness is essential, and bitching is never acceptable. His bible reading for this morning was ‘Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another’ (Colossians 3:13, NIV, Biblegateway.com) and that’s what he’s trying to do. He sees a lot of good things about the cat, and hopes that they can one day be friends. He no longer cares about her opinion of him though, especially with regards to his maturity.

And the Fox has learned from this situation:

That talking about things is nearly always better than not talking about things.

That you should never just ignore or be cold to someone if you suspect they like you – it’s a really bad idea.
(On a side note – the Fox today spent some time with one of his best friends, who at one point said she was attracted to him. They talked openly about it, and now they get on really well!)

The fox also looks forward to the day in heaven when he and the cat will look back on this and laugh with each other.

D.