“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8-10 (NIV)
One of my kitties was missing. I had not seen my little black Electra in over a day. It was unusual for her to be gone so long. She had always stayed right around the barn or house. The cats had had a hard week. With everyone back to school and work, the big dog Sky is outside all day long. She likes to chase them so they hadn’t had much rest. Since mid week, the kittens had been restless and unsettled. Then, Electra did not show up for several meals and was not sleeping in her usual place among the hay in the barn. I worried over her so much, and when I went to check on her one evening before bedtime only to find she had not returned, I set out to find her. With a flashlight, I scoured our large yard and five-acre pasture. I looked under the travel trailer, the house and the canoes. I checked up on the play set and behind the storage shed. I searched the garage and the front porch. Then, I walked the fence line, shining my light into the trees along the driveway. Calling, “Kitty, kitty, kitty” as loudly as I could without waking the neighbors, I hunted and hoped for over an hour. At one point, I could hear a kitty purring and turned in excitement thinking it was Electra. But, it was her brother LeSabre, glad for my company, as he was lonely without her. Despite my efforts, I could not find her anywhere. I went to bed with a sad heart. I was sure that she had met an untimely death. Perhaps she had climbed a tree and her collar had caught on a branch hanging her. Maybe she had gotten into the road and been run over by a car. Or could a hawk or snake have eaten her? What gnawed at my mind the most was the thought that the dogs might have injured her and she had crawled away to die alone. As I lay in bed, I prayed and asked God to return her safely home. I reminded him how much I love her. It was a long time before I was able to get to sleep. Upon awakening the next morning, I went straight out to the barn to see if she was there. She was not sleeping in the hay and I did not see her anywhere. My heart felt like it was going to break. Sadly, I went about feeding the horses. When I returned to the feed area, to my surprise, Electra was sitting there waiting for her breakfast as if nothing had ever happened. Joy filled my entire being and I began to praise God for His answer to my prayers. Jesus told this story about a coin to remind people how much God wants us to come home to Him. If He cares about my little black cat, imagine how much He cares about you!
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