Christian Living

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Whenever I hear a rumble of thunder, I think about my cat, Tugger, who passed away several years ago at the ripe age of 17 years and five months. I miss that white and yellow, cow-spotted fellow for many reasons. Besides being a huge, spoiled lover boy, he was blessed with a special talent.

Tugger could predict tornados. He was so skilled in this area of meteorology, that we called him “The Storm Watch Weather Cat.”

I’m on tornado alert myself—have been since 1998 when I was, literally, shaken out of bed by an F-3 roaring over my house. Now, whenever storm clouds gather, I check to see if my wind chimes are blowing in a straight-line or circulating. I have two weather alert radios, am an adoring fan of The Weather Channel and created a tornado hide-out in my basement. My nephew Scott used to joke about building a tower in my back yard so I could maintain “funnel watch” during stormy weather. Such wasn’t necessary, though, when Tugger was on patrol.

We first noticed his sensitivity to tornados during what seemed a typical spring storm. Suddenly, he released a distressed yowl, dropped to his belly and scooted down the hall, looking much like a monster caterpillar sizzling with static electricity. When he headed for the basement, my husband wisely announced, “We’re following the cat.”

We hurried below, turned on the TV and sure enough, the National Weather Service urged us to hit the deck. Similar episodes followed, like Tugger body slamming himself against our bedroom door at 3 am—minutes before our weather radio went off and NOAA screamed that we were, quite possibly, bound for Oz. If we were awake during a pending twister, Tugger paced between the basement stairwell and whatever part of the house we occupied, attempting to herd us to safety. Whenever this behavior flared up, we knew that “quarter sized hail” would soon pelt and ping. I’m telling you, this cat was good, and didn’t need Doppler radar to know a severe weather alert was in order.

Some people scoff that Tugger wasn’t unique, that all animals sense inclement weather due to changes in barometric pressure. Though probably true, not all animals heed warnings. We once had a cat named Jesse who loved storms, and dashed from window to window trying to catch lightening. Our cat Max, who’s still living, would ignore falling rocks. Once missing during a tornado warning, I frantically searched the house and found him leisurely stretching on my bed, unconcerned that he was at risk of being air-lifted to another county.

A lot of people are the same way. No matter how many storm sirens go off, they ignore the warnings or flirt with the danger. They could be mismanaging finances, abusing their health or risking relationships and careers. Warning flags wave, but these folks operate on forward march. Eventually, they’re swept into a storm of their own doing and get mad at God—“A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord.” (Proverbs 19:3):

Some storms strike with no warning. In Georgia, we sometimes have “rain-wrapped tornados”, ones enshrouded in so much rain, you may not realize they’ve arrived until a jet ski lands in your Magnolia. Some of life’s storms attack the same way—sudden illness, an accident, or other things that thunder in even though no warning was announced. There may not be a cloud in the sky. Anyone can experience unexpected storms, which is why we need a firm foundation of faith if we’re to withstand them. Jesus analogized this in Matthew 7:25: “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

If our walk with the Lord has fallen by the wayside, then our foundation is sitting on sand, which Jesus said will cause us to fall “with a great crash” in stormy weather. (Matthew 7:27). There are warning signs of a shaky foundation—we’re restless, doubtful, yielding to sin, absorbed by worldly cares and acting in ways that don’t glorify our Lord. Our hearts and minds unguarded by Christ, we miss “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7)

Let’s heed the warnings of a shaky walk, by returning to solid ground and trusting God completely so that we aren’t “blown and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6)

Warnings are issued for a reason, and if there’s one thing I learned from my Tugger cat, it’s this: if the warning is there, a tornado might be right behind it.

©Donna G. Morton, January 2007

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