Sucker

I grew up with cats until the orange cat I received for my sixteenth birthday died when I was a senior in college. After that I no longer had cats. After that cats made my asthma and allergies bad so it became impossible for me to have cats. My mom purchased a kitten for my daughter's fifth birthday. We took the kitten home. It remained at our home for a day until my mom realized that my allergies were bad. To my daughter's great sorrow, Snuggles had to live at my mom's home because of my allergies. Since that time I have only had hypoallergenic dogs until last summer when an accident resulted in us rescuing a stray kitten. For weeks I had been praying that God would solve a mice problem in our home. My daughter's dog, Winston, had his eye on the stray orange kitten that continued showing up in our back yard. He cornered the orange kitten under bushes, in the corner of our fence and underneath trees. I never dreamed that we would nurse this stray orange kitten back to health or that he would eventually be a pet. Who would have dreamed that our mousing situation would be solved by a kitten that was always on our property? He was the only stray kitten that our neighbor was unable to catch. It was clear that he had claimed us. It just took a mishap for it to become a reality. This happened one year ago and since then Oliver has become a resident of our home that has provided hours of entertainment. Despite allergies, he has become just as special as the orange kitten I had years ago.

A couple weeks ago, we wandered into a pet store looking for a snuggly kitten for someone who needed a kitten. A precious black kitten with an eye issue stole my heart. She'd been in the pet store for weeks without anyone willing to adopt her. I sat holding the black kitten as she snuggled against me. She settled into my arms contentedly, purring loudly, batting at my hair as I held her. My daughter tried to hold her but she begged for me. I was a sucker. As I sat there holding her suddenly her name came to me, Callie. The name suited her perfectly. She was a loving bundle of energy, that loved to play and who was content as could be with anything. My heart told me I had to have her. She was begging for a home. I couldn't leave her at the pet store. So I filled out the paperwork and a couple days later we picked her up. Oliver has been enjoying her ever since and Callie has fun playing games with Oliver. She has settled into our home as if she has always lived here. Everyone enjoys playing with her. Other than allergies, she has been a great addition to our family. Who would have dreamed that a black stray kitten would hold such admiration by Oliver, our orange independent stray? They have become an inseparable pair.

Sometimes life has a way of surprising us. God has a sense of humor. He has amazing ways of answering our prayers. Maybe you too are praying for God to fill some of your needs. My prayer is that someday you too will be able to laugh and smile at the ways God provided for your needs. He has amazing ways of making things happen in our lives if we take the time to notice. May we never lose sight of the amazing things God does for us.