July 20, 2022

It was a Wednesday when my youngest blessing and I were looking at kittens. She always wants to see the ones in the pet store when we are nearby. We hadn’t had kittens for about 30 years because:

1) my husband says he doesn’t like cats

2) my youngest seemed allergic to them

However, recently she and I went on vacation and the majority of the time we stayed where Buddy the cat lived and she had no problems with him whatsoever.

We saw the cutest kitten that day so I sent a picture to my husband.

He texted back, ”where are you?”

I texted, ”at the pet store. PALEEEASE!!”.

We could not spend time with the kitten because no one was there to show us so I told him we were safe from getting said kitten for now….

It also helped that over the 4th of July they visited friends who had kittens and my husband sent me a picture of her holding one. I talked a little about the pet store kitten that evening but my husband didn’t say much of anything, except maybe a grunt here and there, which is a good sign because at least it’s not a ”no” so I told my youngest we could go look the next day.

That evening I went to bed praying to know if we should get a kitten or not, and the more I thought and prayed about it, the more I didn’t want to get a kitten from the pet store. I hadn’t realized until that day that the kittens and cats stay enclosed in a see through box 24/7 all alone, with no other animal or human contact except for maybe a few hours a day when a person is there to show them off ONLY IF someone wants to spend time with them.

The next day I told my youngest how I felt about the pet store not taking care of the kittens as I felt they should and that we needed to look for a place that has foster homes like where we got our puppy the year before. We found two places that were “no kill” and the animals were in foster homes. After looking, I decided it would be best to actually have two kittens especially if they are siblings and/or bonded.

So when my husband came home that night, I told him we decided we wouldn’t get a kitten from the pet store but found two places that have foster homes that we started looking at. I still didn’t get a “no” so the next day I moved forward filling out two adoption applications, one for each place. That evening I told him about the applications. Again, there might’ve been something like a grunt for a response but since it wasn’t understandable, I took that as another positive to move onward ahead!

By the next day, our applications were approved. I heard from one of the foster homes that evening and said we may be able to visit the next day after church but would touch base then.

I was praying that evening as well as the following day that we’d pick just the right kittens that were meant for our family. I was hoping we’d hear from the other foster home as well so we could make an informed decision. Later the next day, we went to see a sibling pair at the first foster home.

My husband said he’d drive us, and as we were headed there, he said, ”there are a couple things you both need to know. First, I keep hearing, ”kittenS”. We are only getting one’”.

I quickly responded we needed to get two especially if they are bonded and/or siblings.

A long pause and then he said, ”next, I do not like cats and I will not take care of them”.

We all agreed.

“Yay, two kittens!”, I thought. I told him I want to make the right decision and kept thinking the kittens that needed a home first is who we would get.

He said, ”they’re cats….it doesn’t matter whIch ones you pick”.

Well, it obviously did matter to me or I wouldn’t have kept thinking that plus it was something he had said years ago to me with another situation….

….you will read about it soon enough.

My youngest and I visited with the kittens for just a few minutes. They were adorable but one was very skiddish with the foster mom as well as my daughter which gave me a little concern. I told the foster mom we decided to wait for 24 hours to make a final decision and also I had just ordered kitten things the day before that wouldn’t be here for another five days.

As soon as we left that foster home, I was contacted by the other foster mom who had two sets of litters. I told her we couldn’t see them that evening because my husband had a meeting at church and my daughter had youth group but we would contact her the next day to decide when/if we would come see them. She then sent me a bunch of pictures of all the cute kittens.

As we drove home from seeing the kittens, I kept having the thought that we needed to get the pair of kittens that needed a home first. None of that was making sense in this situation because both shelters were ”no kill” plus they have foster homes for the animals who are waiting adoption.

I was dropped off at home while my husband and daughter went to their meeting and youth group, respectively. Later, I went to the church, going inside for just a few minutes and then came back outside to sit in my car with the door open as the weather was beautiful, and I called my friend. We pray together almost every Sunday evening for our families and each other.

I told her about the situation with the kittens, how I was nervous to make the wrong decision so I had concluded the most logical thing to do was not see any more kittens but instead stick with the two we’d already seen that afternoon because falling in love with all the kittens wouldn’t be helpful in the decision making process. My friend and I then prayed and said our good-byes.

I went back into church to get my girlie as we needed to make a run to the store for sandals before she left for camp the next morning because one of hers had broken during youth group. My husband was finishing up his meeting as she and I walked outside.

She went on ahead of me and as I was heading to the car, she said, ”this kitten needs a home!’ I was surprised to see her holding a very tiny kitten.

I walked over to where a couple ladies were standing near her. I asked where the kitten came from and they explained to me that someone abandoned them in the church parking lot that morning but no one could catch them.

“Them? There’s another?”, I thought.

Then one of the gals said they’d been trying to get the other one but he kept running and hiding. She finally got him and I held him while my daughter held the other one. I asked what they were going to do with them and they said they didn’t know.

I then explained our cat venture the past few days and how I kept thinking we needed to take the kittens who needed a home first but didn’t really know what that meant since the kittens all had secure homes, even if temporary, until they found a forever home. I quickly realized that these just may be the kittens for our family because they were in immediate need of a home.

My daughter was so excited as she said, “we got these kittens in the parking lot just like you got me in a parking lot!”

“Yes, we sure did!”

Backtracking to many years before this day, I was in my kitchen when I received a call to foster an 18 month old baby girl. I said, “okay” and the social worker was going to call back with all the information I needed.

A few minutes later, I got another call for a sibling group, both being about two and three years old. I said I had already said yes to a child but would call back if things changed.

Another few minutes later, I get a call back for the first child saying that they had contact with a family member who was going to take her so didn’t need our home but thanked me for being willing.

Then I called the other social workeR about the sibling pair letting her know transpired and that we could take them. She said it would be a few days before we would have them but she would call and keep me updated.

Within a few minutes, I got yet another call for a nine month old baby girl that was going to need a home for a week or so. I told the social worker that we were already going to take the sibling pair but it wouldn’t be for a few days.

I then asked her how we were getting all these calls within minutes of each other (after going over a year without a single call) and she said our names came up and social workers don’t know who gets called.I told her I needed to call my husband and see what to do and I would call her back either way.

I told him the situation about all the phone calls for the children, and asked, ”what do I do?”

He confidently and adamantly replied, ”take whomever needs a home first”.

That made the decision easy so I called the social worker back from the most recent call and said we would take her.

I then had to call the other social worker to explain the situation and thankfully she understood.

The next morning, my oldest daughter and I went to pick her up. When we arrived at the hospital, they weren’t there, so we went out to the parking lot to make sure the car seat was buckled in correctly.

Within a few minutes a lady who was on the phone asked if I was who she was looking for. I said, “yes, I am”.

She said, ”okay I have to finish up this call and the baby is over there in my car. Go get her out and take her into the hospital”.

As I walked across the parking lot to where the car door was open it seemed surreal. I unbuckled and lifted this precious one out of the car seat and held her close. She was very sweaty and dirty. We took her into the hospital.

Those moments were surreal because three months prior, I had a dream that prompted me to pray. It was a dream I had journaled about the next day.

In the dream, I had gone to pick up a baby girl who was six months old but was the size of a newborn. All the pieces of my dream were becoming a reality as this precious little one was nine months old when I picked her up yet I dreamt about her three months prior which would have made her six months old when I had the dream.

She was the size of a newborn in the dream and when I picked her up, she was wearing 0-3 month old clothing because she was malnourished. The detail about the dream that made it all the more surreal was in that dream I picked her up….

….in a parking lot.

We were only suppose to have her for a week or so; we still started praying Jeremiah 29:11-13 over her.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11-13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

As a week turned into a month, we were told it may go to adoption, and although we had only applied for a foster license, we had also accidentally gotten an adoption license. We then knew this was no accident.

“A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I soon decided we would name her ”one with Hope” as hope was in her dedication verse we had been praying over her. Hope is a confident expectation of what God has promised and knowing He is faithful to follow-through.

I think often how we could’ve missed out on one of the biggest blessings of our lives if we didn’t get the child who needed a home first. Praise the Lord my husband and I work well together, usually, to be able to talk through things such as this to make the best decision overall.

Back to the kittens…

My husband came outside from his meeting and saw us each holding a kitten. He was surprised and didn’t think we would be the ones to take them. I told him that we didn’t commit to any kittens because we said we were going to think and pray on it for 24 hours before making any decisions.

I said, “God is answering my prayer. THESE kittens NEED a home immediately” He just stared at me, with a grin, remembering what I had been praying just hours before.

He said, ”I can’t say ‘no’ to God”.

We literally had less than an hour to make a run to the store before they closed to get the kitty necessities for the evening. We all went to the store and while my daughter went in with me, my husband said he would watch the kittens in the car.

This is the guy who hours before said he didn’t like cats nor was he going to take care of them. God sure has a sense of humor. When we got home and everyone settled, I heard my husband say from the other room, ”this is not at all how I thought the evening would go”.

Nope, me neither but I was glad we were able to provide a home for them, even if temporary, because later in the night we had pretty good storms happening in our town.

I went to bed thinking about many things. First, all day, I had been pondering what the pastor had preached that morning. It was about the rich man going to Hades while Lazarus sat at Abraham’s side. The rich man wanted Lazarus to be able to go back to his family and tell them about Jesus as if that would’ve helped him to believe if someone had done that for him. He hadn’t lived believing God’s Word was enough. He needed more proof.

“And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭16:30-31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I found myself aching during the message for loved ones who are so far from God and the tears came easily. I thought if this service didn’t prick people’s hearts to pray for the lost state of their loved ones, I don’t know what would.

Many people can get angry and think God is sending people to hell but that is not Truth. We are not robots and God cannot make us choose Him. However, He wants none to perish! He wants ALL to come to repentance and a saving grace; however, we must make that choice, to follow Him or deny Him.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I didn’t realize until that morning that the rich man still had such a hard heart while in Hades. How hard does a person’s heart have to be to see the Truth and yet still want nothing to do with it? Just like the rich man, some people don’t think they need to be rescued because they are living in the moment of comfort and aren’t looking to their future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMukrR9I7Fs

I thought about the kittens, who didn’t want to be rescued that morning. They kept running. In the evening, one of the kittens was eventually rescued and then the other but it took 45 minutes and a bowl of milk. If they had not been rescued, they might’ve not made it through the storms of that evening. The thing is the kittens didn’t realized they needed to be saved. What a picture of how we can be….stubborn, prideful, and trying to figure out life on our own.

I cannot comprehend who would not want God’s grace and mercy but I can continue to stand in the gap, praying that God does whatever it takes in their lives to soften their hard hearts so they will be moldable once again. Praise the Lord, God is the Hound of Heaven who refuses to give up rescuing people.

The next morning I told my daughter that it seemed very appropriate to give them names that fit their rescue from a church parking lot. Their names would be Mercy and Grace. Mercy is not getting what we deserve and Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. We don’t deserve compassion, forgiveness, or salvation but God freely will give it to ALL of us IF we choose to be saved.

We don’t have to do anything but to accept the gift He wants to give us. How many of us have received a gift but set it up on a shelf instead of opening it? I don’t think anyone would. This is a beautiful reminder of God’s unconditional love for us and all we need to do is accept His gift. We simply need to acknowledge the following:

• God rules—The Bible tells us God created everything, including you and me, and He is in charge of everything.
  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
  ‭‭ Genesis‬ ‭1:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
  
  “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
  ‭‭ Colossians‬ ‭1:16-17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭4:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

• We sinned—We all choose to disobey God. The Bible calls this sin. Sin separates us from God and deserves God’s punishment of death.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

• God provided—God sent Jesus, the perfect solution to our sin problem, to rescue us from the punishment we deserve. It’s something we are incapable of earning on our own. Jesus alone saves.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:8-9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

• Jesus gives—Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again.. This is the best gift ever!

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭5:21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,”
‭‭I Peter‬ ‭3:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

• We respond—Admit we are sinners, Believe Jesus, God’s Perfect Son shed His blood for us, and Confess that Jesus is Lord. When we ask Jesus to be Lord of our life, we will then desire to be committed to being His ambassador wherever He sends us.

So, don’t ever give up praying because you never know, maybe it will be something as simple as a parking lot where you or your loved ones will find Hope, Mercy, and Grace.

Blessings,
Jennifer