a lesson from Chloe

Within the confines of our home is a rather large menagerie of animals that our family rescued from various fates of life. Included in this number of furry friends is a particularly beautiful strawberry blonde and white kitty with piercing green eyes named Chloe.

Chloe caught the eye (or rather the ear) of Victoria's husband, Chuck - our illustrious leader and head of the house, on a visit to a nearby animal shelter. This sweet kitty called to Chuck with her siren "meow song" and he was instantly smitten.

Now the thing about Chloe is that when she has something on her mind, she lets EVERYONE know about it..... CONSTANTLY.... until her problem is resolved, she feels heard out, or she is disciplined for disturbing the peace. She usually wants to spend the night snuggling with me in my room and doesn't stop or give up until I open the door and let her in.

In a busy home where two businesses and many social activities take place, all family members contribute together in chores - and serving out "kitty breakfast" is one of my tasks. However, this morning I slept in rather late. I awakened to the not-so-subtle grousings and grumblings of Chloe letting me know she was not pleased with the delay in her meal time.

Now, I must admit, because my bed was so comfortable (thank you Lord), I chose not to respond as quickly as Chloe would have liked. So, she proceeded to use every means at her disposal to get me up and moving. While vocalizing her complaints, she raced back and forth across the bed, sat on my chest, climbed under the covers, jumped on and off the bed, etc., etc., etc. Secretly, I wondered just how long she would continue her antics, but my conscience finally got the better of me and I acquiesced to her sorrowful cries.

While I was preparing the meal and reflecting on Chloe's behavior, I was reminded of Jesus' parable in Luke 18:1-8 about the persistent widow and the judge. Like Chloe, the widow had something on her mind that needed attention and she would not stop or give up until the judge responded to her petitions. Jesus shared the story with his disciples, "To show them that they should always pray and not give up." (vs. 1)

A great reminder... Jesus wants our faith to remain strong no matter how our prayers are answered. He wants us to trust God even when things don't go the way we want. Of course, we can stop praying for something specific if God indicates to us that His answer is no or different than we desired (which may open an opportunity for something or someone else).

Jesus also contrasted the unjust judge with God. If the judge, "who neither feared God nor cared about men" (vs.2) eventually listened to the widow, just think how much more quickly our loving, caring God will respond to us, His children. What a wonderful reminder.

While our pack of saved pets doesn't include a donkey (who was used to teach a lesson to Balaam in Numbers 22:21-39), I'm thankful that the Lord could use a little kitty named Chloe to remind me of his lesson about faith, trust and my persistence in prayer.

Blessings!

~Victoria