My Cat

We recently found out that our cat has cancer. We don't know how much longer she will live, but this news has made us sad and a little nostalgic.

About 16 years ago on a walk around our neighborhood, we heard the cries of a kitten. Since there were no houses nearby, we concluded this kitten must have been dropped off (basically, thrown away) there. Although we already had one cat, we decided to "adopt" this kitten. I remember that first day. Every time I tried to pick her up, she hissed at me. She was a little toughie. She did everything she could to escape, fight, hiss, growl - anything to show her displeasure. I thought, "Here we are trying to feed you; give you a warm and safe place to sleep - and all you can do is try to bite me?" She fought us every step of the way. Even so, we loved her and decided to call her Annie, after Little Orphan Annie. I would open the cage to feed her and she would arch her back and hiss. Finally came the day when we could trust her (and she could trust us!) enough to let her out of that cage. She tried to escape. She never would let us pet her...at least at first. Slowly...I mean, S-l-o-w-l-y she began to trust us.

Annie has never been into people that much, but somehow over a period of years, she has connected with me. Now, she greets me every morning. I pet her and she purrs then licks my hand. I say, "Sweet Kitty" and she says, "I love you." Well, not really (Annie has never learned to talk)...but I can tell she would say it if she could.

It is going to be tough losing her.

Annie also reminds me of...me. God came after me. I tried to escape - even bite...but God kept on loving me - despite my protests. He called me by name, He adopted me into His family...and as time went on I found myself loving Him more and more. I find myself saying, "I love you." What a change!

We are so much like Annie. One day we are hissing the next we are licking the Master's hand. We love Him. Why? "Because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19)