It is pitch dark outside and our worse fears are
taking over us as I am screaming “Greee…Greee….” My shouts can be heard all
over Genesee County. I walked toward my neighbor’s home where Mrs. McDonald
keeps lots of kitties inside her home. Searching with my flashlight, I discover
a kitty with a tan coat that looks somewhat like Greian, but Mrs. McDonald
identifies this kitty as Mittens. My heart sinks to the ground thinking I had found
our girl only to realize that she has a twin stepbrother.
The search continues for two hours and I am
praying to all the saints to help us find this lost kitty who is in danger of
being swooped up by a hawk or taken away by a fox or an assortment of
predators. Please God help us find our Gecian. She might have enjoyed the
thrill of leaving her home for the first time in ten years exploring a new
world. But at this late hour, she would be hungry and crying to find her way back
home for dinner.
I am now searching along the woods and shouting
Greee…Grees. and suddenly spot two eyes glistening in the darkness. I have no
idea if it is our Greian, but I move closer and see the color is correct. The
cat moves slowly away from the light and disappears. You got to be kidding. I
had her in my sights and she disappears into the darkness. Please God, help us
find this lost kitten. Greee…Greee.. and after a few minutes the eyes appear
again. I lower the light from her eyes and keep track of her location. We move
in slowly and she walks slowly into a bramble of bushes. On our hands and knees
we crawl up closer to this cat and slowly reach out to cuddle her back into
safety. But who is this cat? Is it Greian or Mittens? We check to see if this
tan kitty has black spots on its nose. We can hardly see in the dark but with a
closer look the spots are there. It is our Grecian!
When have you had a moment where your heart sank
to the bottom of your feet because the love of your life walks away. At these
moments we pray up a storm asking God to help us through the tears and fear
that we will never see our loved ones again. For some, it could be there spouse
being deployed to a combat zone, for another, there child gets involved in
drugs, or worse, a spouse walks away from the marriage. What is your darkness?
For some people, Grecian is only a cat that found
a way to steal a few a moments of freedom because someone was careless and left
the door open. Our take is that she is an innocent animal that needed our
protection and diligence to help find its way home.
That’s what God is like. Our light in times of
storms, our protection when we find ourselves walking in the darkness, our shepherd
who comes to our rescue when we are in danger and feel all alone.
God watches over us as we pray: “We trust in the
Lord, as the Lord rescues us. The Lord deliver us, since he delights in each
one of us.” (Psalm 22:8).
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who feel
that they are walking in darkness at this moment. Let my dear friends hear the
voice of God calling their name not to be afraid for God comes to rescue us
from all our fears and pain. Grecian is now safety back home enjoying her dinner
and resting on my lap fast asleep.
