by Tasha Fowler
Canal Winchester, OH
II Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
A few years ago, my husband and I had a cat, named Abishag. She was loving but it was clear she was MY cat. Our souls spoke to one another whereas my husband just saw her as a hairy nuisance. One day he opened our back door, and for some reason did not verify that the screen was shut. I returned home to see this and realized my fur baby was gone. I posted on craigslist, Facebook, a missing pets website etc. to no avail, I cried for days because I knew it was pushing 90 degrees out and this chunky spoiled cat was not prepared to fend for her life in the wilds of suburban Canal Winchester.
“The Monarch of Bibles” A practical Biblical study of the words of Scripture, “inspired and preserved.” (Click on the image for more information.)
A few days had passed and a concerned citizen from the lost and found pets website called me. She said “I live in Grove city (about 30 minutes’ drive away)” and proceeded to explain that she found a friendly black cat in her yard and fed it, and she thinks it may be mine. I was skeptical because why on earth would this cat make the trek to Grove City, but the lady told a convincing story about how her brother had accidentally taken a stray that was stuck somehow in his car or under his car to another state and it was, in fact, possible. I figured it couldn’t hurt to check and as I was busy that day I ended up sending Brandon. I begged him, “please call me the second you know!”
He called and explained that he couldn’t be sure but he seemed excited and said, “I don’t know how Tash, but I think this might be her!” I was so happy! The lady gave us a carrier and I asked that he bring her to me so I can check! You might think the moral of this story if that God can find us even when we wonder far away… or He never stops trying to reach us etc… let us pump the breaks right there, my friends. While all that is true, this story takes a hard turn.
He pulled up and I bolted for the car, swung open the door, and saw that Brandon was beaming. He felt like a hero. The cat began to meow loudly, and before I even saw it, I said, “it’s not her voice”. He said she had been outside maybe she was hoarse -_- but eager to have my baby back I grew hopeful again. I opened the cage and let me tell you… she (or rather HE) might as well have been a yellow dog. It was so clear to me that this was NOT her. He had marking she didn’t have, the voice, the size, he was twice her size! The attitude was totally different, but Brandon, bless his guilty heart, tried to explain all that away. Her color faded in the sun, she ate different stuff, etc…
“Recipes for Rearing Children” by Pete and Frieda Cowling (Click on the image for more information.)
In his defense he genuinely did think that this was her, he sure wasn’t trying to just bring another cat home. The difference in why I knew Abishag and he didn’t was love. I had spent more time loving her, I was attached to her and he was not. He was fooled so easily by another animal because in his mind he couldn’t remember her face or her voice. He hadn’t spent the time with her that I had or took the time to notice these things about her.
There are many verses in the Bible where folks were in the presence of Jesus yet had no clue who he was. They’d been told for generations to look for the Messiah. They studied all about Him. Some had even Him before, like when his disciples didn’t recognize Him. You can’t always recognize someone you haven’t spent time with, heard their voice, someone you haven’t studied their face, or grown to love. I want to be so familiar with Jesus that I can’t help but notice Him everywhere and in everything. I want to feel His presence but that only comes with the effort of getting acquainted with Him and learning of Him. I want to know HIM. So, I challenge you, would you recognize Him? Would someone be able to pass off a phony to you? This was convicting to me, and I hope it encourages you, like me, to want to know Him all the more!
Longer story short, We eventually found Abishag and had a joyous reunion. We laugh about it now that this animal was so clearly not ours and Brandon just so badly wanted to fix his mistake, he tried to shove this square peg through this round hole, so to speak. I joked that if one of our kids ever went missing, he’d bring home totally the wrong kid, LOL! God was faithful to answer my children’s prayers for their beloved pet (and mine!). God is good!
