"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
My mentor had a beautiful silver tabby cat named called Pecky. The little furry creature was a one-woman cat but also tolerated me. It seemed she sensed the affection between her owner and me and was rather jealous! She allowed me to play with her but silently, with no purrs. That was all. Pick her up? Cuddle her? Absolutely not!
Years went by and eventually, my dear mentor could no longer manage living alone. Her family decided she should go into a very caring home. Unfortunately, it was decided Pecky couldn’t go too. A kind neighbor and I volunteered to care for Pecky until the house was sold and a new owner could be found for her. At one point, I heard the family was considering putting the cat down if a new owner couldn’t be found in a timely manner. I knew I needed to gain my peace about that and worked to see how much love the family had for my mentor and how they really wished the best for her and the cat. That night, I worked with the idea: “Be still and KNOW that I am God.” An “angel thought” came to me: I just knew that God is always in charge, knows the need, and is the source of the love the family exhibited. This was indeed the Comforter at work! I fell asleep, peaceful and untroubled.
As it turned out, we didn’t need to advertise for a new owner for Pecky. Two members of our branch church, a husband and wife, were delighted to take Pecky, as they had recently lost their cat. When I went to pick up Pecky to take her to her new owners, I discovered my mentor’s grandson, who was staying in the house, had shut Pecky into the living room, where he was sitting because as a farm kitten Pecky had been frightened by a male farm laborer and ever since then did not trust men and would run away. As I squeezed through the doorway into the living-room, the cat shot out past me and made a bee-line for the cat flap in the kitchen. I followed her wondering what to do next.
The “angel” thought came to: “sit quietly on the floor and talk to her with calm authority.” So I did. Pecky stopped clawing at the kitchen unit door, which the boy had shut so that she could not get out, looked at me, and then came right up to me - purring. I said to her, in a kind but confident voice: “Mom isn’t here so I need to take you to a loving new home.” Pecky seemed to understand and amazingly, let me pick her up and carry her back into the room from which she had tried to escape, and put her in the cat basket!
Now this was more astonishing! Pecky always hated car journeys and caterwauled incessantly during the trip. Another “angel thought” guided me to place the basket on the front passenger seat and to reassure her as we drove. She didn’t whimper or howl once.
I was concerned that once we arrived, there might be a problem because, as I said, she was afraid of men and might try to run away from the husband. Another “Angel thought” presented itself: “Let go and let.”, so I did.
Pecky’s new family had prepared a quiet place for her to come out of her basket. I discovered they knew Pecky before because they had come to lunch with my mentor many times (but Pecky had usually run out of the room so they didn’t know each other well). I opened the cat basket and Pecky came straight to me, then, she saw the husband stretch out a hand and she went over to him - purring! What had happened? What “angel thought” came to me was: “perfect love casteth out fear.” This is what happens when God loves a little cat (and all the rest of creation).
Oh, by the way, Pecky lived happily with that family many years. God certainly goes “All The Way.” (Article by Milton Simon).