Mog - Judith Kerr

Mog the Cat is a timeless classic - not only does it have beautiful illustrations (I feel this will be said a lot on this site) but Mog herself is adorable.

For those who haven't met Mog yet - here's the lowdown;

Mog is a cat who lives with the Thomas family. She is a cat who gets a lot of things wrong, all the time. She's pretty forgetful. Which causes a lot of bother to the Thomas's. But who, in the end, saves the day by forgetting to use her cat flap.

While Mog isn't actually human, she does betray a fundamental human trait - we are forgetful.

And so is Mog. For her, it's the fact that she's a cat most of the time. She's easily

distracted, doesn't think things through, caught up in the moment. She's a cat living her best cat life, until she isn't and she's squashed Mrs Thomas's best hat doing that thing cat's do before they sit down - what is that? Kneading! (I just googled, and briefly got lost down a rabbit hole of cat psychology into why they do it).

We are just the same (with the forgetting - not the kneading). Whether it's what you went upstairs for or to pick your kid up from school. We forget stuff. Big stuff. Small stuff. Annoying stuff. All just slipping out of our minds like vapour.

And this causes us our biggest problem when we forget God. Sure we may not let Him totally slip our minds, but quite often, almost daily for me at least, we forget who He is and what He's done. And that's actually quite a lot to forget.

God is such an awesome, indescribable, out of this world, blow your mind person that it does seem silly really that we can forget this. His sovereignty, His eternity, His all the time, unwavering goodness. Never changing, always constant, perfect. And yet I forget about it. I forget He's good when the day gets out of hand or something bad happens. I forget He's in charge when I think I know a better way and what He's doing doesn't make sense. I forget that He sees the beginning and the end and all that's in between when I can't understand what's happening or why. I forget His love for me. That because of Jesus He is for me not against me. That there is nothing I can do to make Him reject me now that I am found in Christ.

Instead, I start to believe my own version of who He is. Judgemental, uncaring, as surprised as I am that that thing just happened. And then I start to live like these things are true. What a dark road to walk down.

Perhaps the thing that the Thomas family find most frustrating about Mog is that they seem to constantly try and right her forgetfulness only to then find she has reverted to her old ways. They buy her a cat-flap so she doesn't scare them to death crying at the kitchen window. And she uses it - to exit the house. But forgets by the time she wants to some back in.

As do I. (I mean, I don't use a cat-flap or anything, I just mean I forget quickly even if a few minutes ago I did remember.) I can be on top form first thing after reading my Bible, but by the time I've got dressed it's all just washed down the drain with my morning shower.

And so here's the good news;

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget,

I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are ever before me.

Isaiah 49v15-16

God NEVER forgets. He cannot forget you, or your circumstance or your pain or suffering or anything about your life. And He cannot forget to be Himself. He will always be the same, yesterday, today and forever. These two things are breath taking. The God who is good, loving, holy, eternal, sovereign, kind, merciful, gracious and glorious remembers you and me. Not just in a fanciful way "Oh, remember that little person who got caught in a cat-flap?!" But in a deep, all encompassing way - you are engraved on the palms of His hands. Each of your days is marked on God's calendar. Every hair on your head is accounted for.

You will forget. Your little kittens will forget - more times than you can ever remind them, believe me! But God, He does not. You are known by the Maker of the universe. Deeply. And no matter how many times you forget Him, you can never be removed from His hands.