Foxy the Cat

Recently, we discovered a stray cat living inside the drain pipe which runs under our driveway. At first glance I thought it was a fox. My son was convinced it was a raccoon. Which explains why her name is Foxy Raccoon Cat. (Poor thing…I know!)
While I’m not really a cat person (might have something to do with the fact that I’m allergic to them!), this little stray has somehow crawled into my heart. It took a few days for my kids to gain her trust. They would quietly walk down to her drain house and lure her out with scraps of deli meat. Once her belly was full, she would allow them to pet her. After just a day or two, she would lay in their laps after eating. They were thrilled.
I was surprised one day to find her by our back door, meowing her request for breakfast. “Well, I think we have ourselves a cat,” I told my husband that night. (He was resigned thrilled.)
The kids and I went that day to buy cat food, two bowls, treats and a flea collar. The cat has not ventured far from our house ever since. In fact, she and our dog have become the best of friends. It took time for them to accept each other’s presence. But they did! They will now lie in the sun together, sit and beg from our plates when we eat out side, and call to each other from opposites of the backdoor.
My kids view the cat as an answer to prayer. You see, for five years they have prayed off and on for a cat. They both love cats, and are convinced that I’m making up the whole allergic thing. Our deal has always been that if we ever found a stray, they could feed it and consider it their own. So, they started praying. I know they assumed God would answer their prayers immediately. But He did not. They prayed more fervently, but no cat.
As each cat-less day passed, their prayers slowed in intensity and frequency. Every once in awhile though, one of them would tag a prayer for a cat onto the end of their bedtime prayers. This went on for 5 years – a lifetime to a kid.
But then one spring day, without any fanfare or warning, a cat appeared in our drain. The excitement was so great that at first they were simply in the moment, relishing the fact that a real live cat was eating turkey slices from their hands. But that night, my eight-year old titled her head as if deep in thought, looked up at me and said, “It sure took God a long time to answer our prayers, but He did. He sent us a cat. I can’t believe it.”
What a lesson for all of us! Just because God does not give us exactly what we pray for when we pray for it, doesn’t mean that He won’t. It just may not be in our timetable.
Maybe He is delaying to grow our faith. Maybe the timing is not right. Maybe He is working in ways we can’t see. Maybe getting what we think we want is not what’s best for us.
I feel like God is teaching me so much through this little stray. I imagine she will make many appearances on this blog dedicated to seeing evidence of God in my everyday life.
I just love how personal God is – how He provides for us in such sweet and tangible ways. He allowed my kids to experience a delayed answer to prayer – a lesson far greater than anything I could have taught them. And He is using a cat, a stray cat, to open my eyes to deep spiritual truths. Truths I am still pondering and praying through.
He is a good God, and loves His children so much that He will occasionally send them foxy raccoon cats in drains just to show them that He can 😉

Much love,
Jen