I’m not much on the forwards that inundate my email inbox, but this was too good to pass up. And it provoked some interesting thoughts which I’ll get into after you read:
The Pastor’s Cat
Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his church. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, but the kitty would not come down. The tree wasn’t sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.
That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little forward, the rope broke.
The tree went 'boing!' and the kitten instantly sailed through the air - out of sight.
The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No, nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, 'Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,' and went on about his business.
A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. Everyone knew this woman was a cat hater, so he asked her, 'Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?' She replied, 'You won't believe this,' and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her daughter, 'Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it.'
She told the pastor, 'I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.'
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After some doubled over laughter, I thought, “True story? Yeah right.” It’s too bizarre. Too outrageous. Too unlikely. Yet how many things like that have I experienced? My life is a beautiful example of just how far God will go to ignite joy in His children’s hearts.
Maybe the story is true, maybe it isn’t. But why am I so quick to doubt? Instead, I should pray, “Not my will, but Yours be done,” and trust Him with the rest.
So the next time you pray, look up. You never know when God may send the answer in the form of a kitty flying over your fence of doubt.
I face one of the year’s hardest problems every Mother’s Day. You don’t have to know me long to know I adore my parents, that my mom is still my bestest friend I hold hands and skip along with.
I love my mama so much I have no idea what to get her for Mother’s Day. To make matters worse, her birthday is right around May’s corner, June 20. A few ideas are coming to a boil on my mind’s stove, but nothing as fantastic as she deserves.