But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. (Titus 3:4-5a)
Four days after arriving home from vacation, I was distraught. Our 18-year-old cat hadn’t been there to greet us and a thorough search of our property proved fruitless. When the neighbor said he’d heard her usual noontime meow from our front porch just hours before we’d gotten home, we concluded she must have crawled off somewhere to die. In the four days since, we searched again and again. The shadow of cat memory continually called me to look for her outside of our glass front doors, waiting to be fed. But the space was just space, empty of cat. The whole thing felt so sad and uncertain. It’s hard to rightly grieve when you aren’t sure of the ending. The heart wants closure.
Then, we learned a cat matching her description had been found. A cat in bad shape was turned in to our local Animal Rescue Friends (ARF) where she then incurred $500 of veterinary expenses.
This should have been good news except for two things.
- We wouldn’t have agreed to spend that kind of money on our old girl who was clearly near the end of her days.
- The rescuers were reportedly pretty steamed at the terrible people (us!) who had let their cat get into such bad condition.
So, on this fourth day home from vacation, I had about an hour before I needed to go to the office and see if the skinny gray and white kitty with the matted fur was indeed our Trouble.
Even as I write this, I want to defend myself. To explain to you that we knew she had kidney failure (a common malady as a cat’s end draws near). She had stopped grooming herself (another sign). And a couple of months before our trip, she had stopped eating. In April, we had her on home hospice to keep her comfortable. We even had a final resting place prepared for her under a shady tree in the back yard.
And then she rallied.
I mean, she still looked terrible, but by the time we left on vacation, she was back to eating, drinking, purring, and climbing the ramp to her cat condo and, according to the friends who covered her twice-a-day feedings, she’d remained in that acceptable elderly-cat condition for the duration of our trip.
The people at ARF didn’t know this, of course. Even if they had, they frowned upon any kind of outdoor cat situation and her long matted fur would be inexcusable in their eyes. Maybe everyone’s eyes. I was heavy with the anticipation of being found wanting as a pet owner. A crushing heaviness that dug into memories I carry of falling short as a mom, a friend, a wife, and a person.
To fill the waiting time, I opened to Day 42 of the lighthearted devotional book I was going through.
God Saves the CRUSHED in Spirit
key word crushed (adj): compressed or squeezed forcefully; feeling overwhelmingly disappointed.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18
The devotional story that followed covered a situation far more severe than my prideful fear of judgment and provided a perspective shift I needed. Plus, Psalm 34 had served as a lifeline to me during a much more difficult season of my life. Just seeing the reference reminds me of God’s steadfast love that never ceases.
I still couldn’t imagine a pleasant ending to this cat story, but I asked a few friends to pray and, bringing my mom along (she knew the woman we were going to meet with and might be able to smooth the waters), my husband and I headed off to see if the “neglected” animal was indeed ours.
The next morning, I opened my lighthearted devotion book, feeling far more lighthearted than I’d been the day before. My cat, Trouble, rested peacefully on the front porch as I reflected on how sweetly the whole thing had worked out. After a rough start, we were treated with kindness and compassion. They’d even assured us the vet bill was covered, explaining that’s one of the purposes for the donations they receive at ARF.
I was about to read Day 43 in the devotion book when I realized I’d accidentally skipped a day, so I turned back to Day 41, the one I’d missed.
God Gives Us COMFORT
Key word: comfort (noun): strengthening aid, a feeling of ease from grief or trouble
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3
I don’t understand how these devotions landed on just the right days for me to read them during my cat story, but this kind of thing has happened to me many times over the years and always feels like a breath of God’s kind and comforting presence. The timing on this one even included my mistakenly reading them out of order.
And I had to laugh when I read the key word’s definition out loud. Do you see it? If you draw it out, it reads, A feeling of ease from grief-f-f-or trouble.
A feeling of ease from grief for Trouble. Could it have been any more perfect?
***
How about you? Is the timely comfort of God something you’ve experienced? A perfectly-timed Bible reading, devotional, or song, perhaps? Maybe even a well-placed billboard or bumper sticker?
I’d really like to know how you’ve seen God’s small kindnesses in your times of suffering. I believe sharing such things can be an encouragement to others. Please use the comments below to shine that light : )
(And if that’s too public for you, I understand. You can opt to just share it with me–an audience of one). Email me at jody@jodyevans.com.
You know that I LOVE this story Jody! Thank you for sharing with us. ❤️
Thank you, Susie, for doing all that writing work on lighthearted. It’s an encouragement to me to keep doing the work because maybe God will use the work I’m doing now to bless someone down the line, just as He used you in my cat story.
Thank you Jody for sharing the real. The Downs, and the Ups. The angst and the breakthrough. The flow. The way you string words together tickle my brain. The truth and soul in those words encourage and nourish my heart. I’m grateful for you.
Aw, thank you, Devona! What a lovely compliment : )
Thanks for sharing your story, Jody! I agree these are important to share to help build faith in others—and help them watch for these God moments for themselves. I’ve had similar instances, which I call hugs from God. I did publish one once in a Guideposts devotional about dealing with a surly attitude from one of my (at the time) teenagers. It caused me to moan out to God about how wounded I felt, and God answered through a radio message from Charles Stanley, addressing my complaints nearly word for word and assuring me that He sees my heart. The word from God through Dr. Stanley encouraged me to keep going, to keep loving rather than responding with a sour attitude myself. And at the end of that radio segment which I felt like God had put on just for me, my teenager called to ask permission for something and I was able to respond in love. The call ended with her telling me she loved me. ❤️
I love that story Terry. I love how He sees us even when our own attitudes and responses need a tune-up. Jody what a great story of grace!
Thank you for sharing that, Terry. How wonderful that God can use even our complaints to turn us to praise. I love that you took it one step further and wrote a Guidepost story about it. So, what could have been just a teen’s surly attitude and a mom’s wounded reaction became a story of God’s lovingkindness for thousands to see. And Charles Stanley probably had no idea. God is amazing.
Such a great story Jody! I love the focus on the kindness of God. His words comfort like none other and He knows what we need right when we need it the most. I love how He spoke to your heart and dispelled the anxious thoughts!💜 your kitty pics are precious; the baby and the mature senior who lives outside, in the mountains in her cat condo! 😉
Thank you, Jeanette! He certainly does know just what we need and when. I’m glad to see that at the end of a story like this.
I’d sure like to be better at counting on that and and learn to be trusting and grateful in the beginning and middle of the story, too. (Maybe I’m making baby steps in that direction : )
Oh! And I’m glad you enjoyed the young kitty picture, too (available only to email subscribers : ).
I love how you share your internal monologue and say the quiet parts out loud. I LOVE when circumstances and little “coincidences” help us to feel seen and comforted.
Thank you for sharing your story with us! I’ve been feeling sad as my small dogs are growing older 😥
Thank you, Danielle. It’s a bit humbling to share my internal monologue (what if I’m the only one who entertains such thoughts?)
About your small dogs, having pets is a brave sort of love, isn’t it? For we know we will probably outlive then and have to say goodbye.
Jody, I loved your cat story, although I’m not an avid cat lover, they love me a lot. We always had cats growing up and one famous cat in my first marriage was Yoda, a beautiful Himalayan with ears that stuck almost straight out level with the top of his head. He had been hitting the “singles bars” in the neighborhood for awhile and my ex was going to take him to the vet the next day to get him “fixed”. I took Yoda’s face in my hands and said to him, “Yoda, if you have a brain in your head, you will leave tonight and never come back.” Yoda left that night and made a clean getaway! We never saw him again. A little sad, but at least he wasn’t mutilated.
Yes, the Lord does meet us in wonderful ways. Your story is so good and keep those great stories coming. I enjoyed your friends comments and looked into Terry’s link too. It is always great to see you, even if it’s just a snippet at the outdoor concert. Your parents are such dear friends and we see them every week when they’re not in FLA.
Blessings!
You have such a way with telling a story, Steve. Hitting the single’s bars. Ha! Thanks for sharing Yoda’s great escape story with us : )
I love Trouble. I still remember getting her as a kitten from my horseback riding teacher, we took both the kittens to the vet to get their shots and to be spayed/neutered. They decided to poo along the way in their cat carrier and I did nothing to help you besides stand outside the car and make “trying not to throw up” sounds 😂 and once we started back on the road all I could do was try not to breath inside-the-car air. It smelled soooo bad and then some!
I’m so glad you shared this Trouble story, Nicole! (And such vivid imagery — ugh! We can smell your pain : )
I was going to say something about getting her and her brother from the litter in the shed at your riding teacher’s, but I didn’t know how to fit it in. Do you remember those kittens were raised by a single dad? The mom was feral and took off after she had them. I guess they must have been bottle fed for those first weeks.
I so appreciate your honesty Jody. You mustn’t be good at social media – always supposed to look amazing to the world! : ) But you are helping us be real.
I have a song for you! About 10 years ago, I was riding the BART (Bay Area subway) to San Francisco every day for work. On the drive to my train, I kept hearing David Bowie’s “Hereos” in my mind. It was like a continuous loop. “We could be heroes, just for one day…” Then, this happened! I got featured on TV quite randomly!
https://abc7news.com/post/same-bart-passenger-linked-to-two-measles-cases/537459/
I couldn’t get the TV clip to work after several tries (I kept being sent to a live feed). But I scrolled down the transcript and saw mention of my friend, the “Presbyterian Elder” and his words of wisdom about the measles scare. Thanks for sharing : )
Annoying to try to see the full clip now! You have to click “dismiss” in the pop up that comes after several seconds to see all of my video.
Thank you, Richie! I’m glad my lack of amazingness can be an inspiration (ha!)
Ha! Hopefully the video will make up for the smart-aleckness.
[smiley face emoji]
It’s so funny (not funny, probably more sad) how easily I forget that the God of the universe takes an interest in my daily life and wants to be part of it. And so I stop looking and listening and just go about my business, because “I have stuff to do!” Your sharing is so encouraging because it reminds me to look with expectation, to actually recognize when God sends gifts my way, and encourages me to name the things “divine” and not just coincidences and craziness. Thanks for sharing your heart!
Thank you, Devon. What an insightful and encouraging reflection. I think the problem of forgetting may be one reason the body of Christ is made up of many members. We continuously need to be reminded by reminding each other. I love the power stories have for doing just that!