rescue

A Peanut Gallery Update

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I can’t call my little Peanut my little kitten anymore.

She officially weighs 10 pounds at 10 months old.

She’s not so little anymore.

Since that fateful gotcha day, she’s been nothing but loving and sweet and affectionate. She’s the poster child for tortie cats. Or should I say, the poster kitten.

I suppose I’ll always remember June 30, 2017 as the day she picked me at the Williamson County Animal Shelter, nine days after my Lucy crossed the rainbow bridge.

I had another kitten ready to take home. He was in the crate and all that was left was to sign the papers and be on my way.

Then I turned around and saw a tiny paw stretched out, reaching toward me. I heard this piteous little mew and saw Peanut. I went over to her cage and reached my fingers through the cage to pet her. Immediately, she started purring and the rest is history.

The other cat probably ended up getting just as good of a home with someone else, and I got picked by a cat.

God does work in mysterious ways, even at animal shelters in the middle of June.

 

Another Update on Peanut

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On my last Peanut update, I reported that she’d doubled in size. Well, I’m fairly certain that she’s doubled in size again. She weighs 8.2 pounds at 7 months old. I have no idea how big she’ll be when she’s done growing, but I’m positive she’ll be way bigger than my Lucy ever was.

She’s still 100% kitten. She has massive amounts of energy. She also has two modes of existence– full throttle and stop. She’s either a blur of fur or she’s asleep. There’s no in between.

She still likes to have her belly rubbed and is still very grateful for having been rescued back on June 30.

That’s why I advocate for adoption and rescuing cats and dogs. If you’re still stuck between buying from a breeder or rescuing from a shelter, I’d go with the shelter. Those are the animals that really need a good home and will always return the favor by being loyal and affectionate.

Life’s better with a pet. Studies have shown that dogs and cats can reduce stress and lower blood pressure. But one caveat– don’t get a pet unless you’re willing to stick with them for their whole life and truly take care of them and love them like they love you.

That’s it. Peanut’s still helping my heart heal after Lucy’s passing. I’m hoping and praying she has a good, long life. I’m praying she knows how much she’s loved just as much as she’s let me know how much she loves me.

 

 

Three Months Later

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Three months ago today, I went into the Williamson County Animal Shelter hoping to pick out a kitten after my Lucy had crossed the rainbow bridge 9 days earlier.

It was a bit overwhelming at first, as there are so many kittens and cats in need of good furr-ever homes. I actually took a few kittens out and played with them to see how friendly and playful they were.

I had it in my mind that I wanted the cat to purr when I picked it up, but none of the cats I looked at did that. Maybe they were nervous or shy, but none of them seemed overly friendly.

I had a little male tuxedo kitten picked out and ready to take home. He was in the carrier and all that was left was for me to sign the papers and he’d be mine. Or I’d be his. I’m still not sure how exactly that works.

That was when I heard the most heart-wrenching piteous mew. I turned around to see a little black paw reaching to me from a cage behind me. I saw this little tortie kitten begging me to take her home.

I went over to the cage and she reached out and stroked my hand. She was purring. I knew then and there she had picked me to be my next cat. The tuxedo kitten went back to his cage with his mates and was probably adopted later to another good home.

I found out that my little tortie had been found stranded on I-65 when she was rescued. To this day, I don’t know if she was alone. I don’t know if she was actually on the interstate or in the median between the two sides.

All I know is that she rescued me. She gave the love I had for Lucy a new place to go.

The old saying is still true. God does work in mysterious ways, but I’m learning that those ways always turn out way better than my ways and my plans ever could.

Here’s to what I hope will be at least 17 years with Peanut, my little tortie.

 

An Update on Peanut

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It’s been almost 3 months since I was rescued by this little furball at the Williamson County Animal Shelter. I’ve told the story about how I had a completely different cat in the carrier, ready to take home, when Peanut stuck her little paw out of the cage and gave a little piteous mew that said, “Take me instead, please!”

I did, and the rest so far is history.

She typifies the loving and affectionate nature of just about any rescue. She shows her gratitude for being taken out of that solitary little cage every chance she gets. Add that to the fact that she is 100% kitten and what you end up with is sometimes completely hilarious and always a lot of fun.

She’s quite literally growing on me. She’s more than doubled in size since I first brought her home back in June. Maybe that explains why she will eat just about anything in sight (including dog biscuits).

She can never take the place of my beloved Lucy, whom I still miss dearly. She’s her own person with very unique traits and characteristics. She has helped my heart to heal by providing another outlet for the love to flow.

I do recommend that if you’ve lost a beloved pet, go to a shelter and find a cat or dog to rescue. You could pay a lot of money to a breeder for a specialized pet, but I personally think you’ll never regret saving the life of an animal that might otherwise be euthanized.

This whole Lucy to Peanut transition has taught me that while life never quite goes according to expectation, it somehow always turns out better. God really does work all things together for good to those who love Him. That’s not just a quaint saying that you can cross stitch and stick on your refrigerator (to borrow a Mike Glenn saying) but an every day reality.

Don’t ever take anyone in your life for granted at any time. Ever. Not people. Not pets. Always let them know how much they mean to you and always make time for them because you never know when they won’t be around any more.

God is good. Life is great. I am still blessed.

A Psalm for When You’re at the End of Your Rope

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image

“May the Eternal’s answer find you, come to rescue you,
when you desperately cling to the end of your rope.
May the name of the True God of Jacob be your shelter.
May He extend hope and help to you from His holy sanctuary
and support you from His sacred city of Zion.
May He remember all that you have offered Him;
may your burnt sacrifices serve as a prelude to His mercy.
[pause]
May He grant the dreams of your heart
and see your plans through to the end.
When you win, we will not be silent! We will shout
and raise high our banners in the great name of our God!
May the Eternal say yes to all your requests.
I don’t fear; I’m confident that help will
come to the one anointed by the Eternal:
heaven will respond to his plea;
His mighty right hand will win the battle.
Many put their hope in chariots, others in horses,
but we place our trust in the name of the Eternal One, our True God.
Soon our enemies will collapse and fall, never to return home;
all the while, we will rise and stand firm.
Eternal One, grant victory to our king!
Answer our plea for help” (Psalm 20).

I think that says it all.

Lost and Found 2: The Non-Sequel

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I call it Lost and Found 2, not because it has anything to do with the my previous blog called Lost and Found, but because I couldn’t very well have two blogs with the same name, could I? And on a random note, I just finished watching the movie Brave, so I’m hearing a Scottish accent in my head as I’m typing all this.

When I volunteered at the Youth Evangelism Conference, I and all the other volunteers stayed at the downtown Doubletree hotel, courtesy of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. It was quite lovely. But somehow in my hurry to get dressed the next morning, I left one of my favorite t-shirts on the bathroom floor.

I didn’t catch the oversight until I got home. I was very tempted to give the shirt up as lost. I mean after all, it’s only a t-shirt, right? But I really liked this t-shirt. So I called the hotel and got transferred to the lost and found department. Or technically, to the answering machine of the lost and found department. Twice.

Any normal, non-OCD person might have given up by this point. But as I have mentioned many times before in many various settings, I am not a normal person. The OCD part is debatable.

I was going to be in downtown Nashville in the middle of a very wintery day today anyway for some other non-exciting event. So I thought, “Why not? What will it hurt to drop by the hotel and ask in person?”

It turns out the third time’s a charm. They did have my t-shirt, which I am now wearing, and everybody lived happily ever after. Except for those who had to go out into the bitterly cold weather.

The moral of this tale is to not give up, even when what you’re looking for seems hopelessly lost. Like maybe a lost coin. Or a missing sheep. Or maybe even a prodigal son. As someone said before, Keep asking. Keep seeking. Keep knocking. Don’t give up. By the way. that someone just so happens to be Jesus, so I’d do what he says.

Remember that you were once lost, too, and Jesus found you. He didn’t give up on you, and even though you might not have thought yourself worth the time and effort, he did. He didn’t (and won’t) give until he’s found you and rescued you and brought you all the way home.

That t-shirt that I went to all the trouble to find? It’s an Elvis Presley t-shirt from Goodwill. And yeah, it was completely worth the effort.

Seeing With New Eyes

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I had a flashback to an old memory. Actually, it was less of a flashback and more of a memory of my mother telling me about it.

When I was 4 or so, I had the notion to pour Comet Cleanser on my head. It seemed like a fine idea at the time to my 4-year old mind. That is, until it got into my eyes.

I don’t remember any of this, but apparently I burned or damaged my retinas pretty severely. I had to stay in a dark room away from bright lights and have drops in my eyes every four hours. According to the story, there was some doubt as to whether my retinas would grow back.

They did.

I don’t know what triggered that memory. I do know that I’ve had experiences that have caused me to look at myself and others through new eyes.

Like tonight. The teacher at Kairos spoke about the tale of the Good Samaritan. Only he said that Jesus taught the parable to show us not that we’re the Samaritan who helps others, but the badly beaten, naked man lying in a ditch on the side of the road, desperate for help.

Maybe you’ve thought to yourself, “Hey, I’m a nice person. I try to help others and do the right thing most of the time.”

But if you’re honest you look at your life and you see deception and manipulation. You see those times when you failed and didn’t do the right thing. You know that if people could read your mind and see some of the thoughts you have in the dark of night, they wouldn’t think you were so nice.

The fact is that we’re all in need of rescue. We’re not as noble or kind or brave as we thought we were. We’re not nearly as able to help ourselves.

But Jesus is so much stronger than we ever knew. He’s so much more than able to reach down and rescue us from the messes we fall into. He’s able to change us into loving people who don’t do kind things as much as they exude kindness. It’s his love inside us by which we love others who aren’t lovable.

I know even after more than three decades of being a Christian, I need Jesus every bit as much now as I did when I first believed. The only thing that’s changed is that I see so much more clearly how good and great he is, how much he loves me, and how committed he is to me.

I haven’t had any more eye emergencies since. Hopefully, I’m smart enough now not to pour household cleaners on my head. Lesson learned.