I, being the sensible mother I am (yeah, right?), and of course not knowing if the cat was healthy or nice, (but oh, so cute!) immediately told the kids NOT TO TOUCH!! So, I did... You know, just to see if he was okay... In the meantime, this little kitty won the heart of my little girl and gained her good graces. I got a good look at -- uh hummm, obvisously a HIM, and he looked perfectly fine -- beautiful shiny coat, sweet, sweet, sweet demeanor, maybe a little skinny... After all it was Halloween, and he was hungry, and I have heard of awful things that horrible people do to cats on Halloween... I never intended that he would make it into the house! When I told the kids that we needed to come in from the cold, I guess I wasn't explicit about letting the cat continue to be warmed by the pumpkins because once I got a good look at my children when we were all warm back inside the house, my beautiful Snow White had put her prince to sweet sleep on her chest. He didn't move for an hour and a half. Neither did she. She just started her quest to convince us that her prince deserved to have a family...
Her first move: she named him Boo because he found us on Halloween. Her next move: "Don't you know that if you give an animal a name, you get to keep him?" Then: "Mom, I think I have fallen in love with him." And her final move: tears. Sigh... Truth was I had fallen in love with the fact that he had chosen my daughter. And, it's not like I don't love animals too... We have a dog and a cat already, and they both are really MY animals. They love me and pretty much no one else. I have always wanted her to have that special, sweet relationship that comes from an animal choosing YOU above all others.
It was getting late, and I was cowering in my exhaustion, so we laid out our "fleece." I told poor Erin that the kitty HAD to sleep outside that night -- after all, we didn't know if he had any shots and we owed it to our own pets to not get them sick -- but if he was still there in the morning, I'd talk to Daddy and see if he would take Erin and Boo to the vet to make him ours. After a tearful and heartbreaking, "I'm gonna miss you, Boo..." and lots of boo hoo hoo, we put a blanket out for him, watched him scamper away, said a prayer, and went to bed.
The next morning when I woke, Joe told me excitedly that he had checked on the kitty at three in the morning, and he was laying on the blanket! (guess he won Joe's heart, too!) I took a peak, and sure enough, there he was! Erin awoke not long afterwards, and immediately wanted to check on Boo. She opened the door, he meowed an excited good morning greeting, and ran to her open arms. Precious. She closed her eyes, held him tightly, and said, "I knew you'd stay!" She didn't put him down all morning. Joe got the appointment with the vet, and Boo's quest was successful. He was adopted, complete with golden tag and our last name to prove it. I sure have a happy girl. :)
It sure reminds me of the excitement and peace I experienced when I was adopted -- into the Family of God. In my search to find protection, security, and acceptance in my life, the Lord scooped me up, held me to His heart, gave me rest, stamped His Name on my heart, and called me His own. "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." Romans 8: 15-17.
See you again in a week! Thanks for reading!
Yep,that's one happpy little girl. That story kind of sounds like something her mommy would have done. :)hmmm even looks kinda like the cat she gave a home to,too.
ReplyDeleteHe eats like my cat did, too! ;)
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