Chessie Mae--A Cat Story

First, let me begin by stating that Chessie is alive and well. This is a story of how God works in mysterious ways. I didn't even plan on writing this for my blog this week, but she's lying next to me in a dog bed with her toy fish. Distractions are good.

Personally, I've been in a low place lately. My son is struggling with his job situation. My daughter just started her first real job and I'm the one struggling with her being gone for good, so to speak. A member of our church and the husband of a dear friend just passed away--two different people. I got dehydrated after a bike ride on Wednesday, fell, and cut up around my eye. Sometimes, the blows just keep coming.

Perhaps you, dear reader, are also in a low place or maybe you have been at some point (who hasn't?). So, let us turn to God's Word and prayer. Let us turn to our friends and family. And let's find a reason to smile.

In 2015, my daughter graduated from high school and my son from college. We also lost our beloved dog Layla in June and our cat, Ashes, in December. That next summer, I was talking to my department chair and he told me of his mother-in-law's illness. They were making the difficult decision of placing her in a nursing home and he didn't know what do with her cat. The cat had been alone in the house, with only visits and food, for months. Without thinking, I said, "I need a cat."

The cat was an older cat, he said, and wouldn't fare well if placed in a shelter. She was also an inside cat and wouldn't know what to do with herself if she did get outside. In a matter of days, he drove from Mt. Pleasant and dropped off Chessie along with a bucket of toys and a scratch tree and a carrier.

At first, Chessie shrank from her new surroundings and we thought we'd gotten a meek, quiet cat who wouldn't last very long.

Well, let's just say that she played with maybe one of the toys, ignored the scratch tree after a few days of adjustment, and goes outside every morning and throughout the day. We call her a "cat dog" because she follows us around (or sometimes runs ahead), plops down, and begs for her belly to be rubbed. She purrs just to be in our presence. When she plays, she sneaks around and stops when we try to watch, sneaky.

She loves nothing more than to be on my lap, curled up and putting out a paw to remind me to keep petting.

In other words, Chessie brings joy into our lives. And her story, one of almost desperation, and now a life full of love and home, reminds me that, "For with God, nothing shall be impossible." Luke 1:37.

PS. I started writing this before church. At church, I placed items in the Blessing Box. We've had lots of rain, so water got on my glasses from a branch draped over the box. I used my hem to wipe off the water and my glasses broke in half. Hmmm.

1 Philippians 4:12 - 13. "I know what it is is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Verse 13 is well-known, and relied upon by people trying to do great things. But, the preceding verse puts His Word in context, it's not just about great things--it's about the everyday. And that may be when we need Him most.

Please feel free to share any prayer requests that you may have. God bless.