It was one month into moving out of my state last august, that my mom frantically called me and said “Tiny is missing!” I was shaken. Tiny was the world to my parents post retirement life, he was their newborn kitten. They enjoyed every moment of caring and loving him..
From the time he was found almost dead as a kitten to the endless care my parents gave this orphaned cat, I had never seen them love any animal so dearly. He was fed on time, treated with love like a baby, he slept next to my parents, he even had a routine every day that could not be adjusted. He never strayed beyond the house (maybe because he was so terrified) until he was chaperoned by either parent.
When mom and dad were out of station, my neighbors willingly kept him well fed and nourished because he was such a good boy! He was a lone wolf with love only for milk and my dads lap. Alas the dreadful day had arrived because he was missing for not 1 or 2 days but an entire week… It was so unlike him.
My dad checked in with every neighbor and lane along the area and searched every day and night for their favorite cat! He never returned… finally we decided that may his soul rest in peace.
I saw the crestfallen faces of my parents and how they would still bring him up and his habits and quirks were mentioned in every passing conversation. While I suggested the obvious to adopt another one; my mom was dead against the idea. “The heartbreak was just too much” she would say, I would agree.
One fine October morning as we cleared out the store in the yard, my dad heard a meow and found a furry little monster! He was the furriest kitten I have ever seen and I couldn’t hide my happiness when I saw my dads face light up! He said “Tiny sent him as his replacement.” but my mother was skeptical. She sent out the word for the owner. A week had passed by and no one had turned up, so my father decided to take him in as our own and the grooming began all over again..
But as luck would have it, my neighbor realized that it belonged to a kid from a nearby house and he was standing at my door to take rightful ownership of his pet but my mom suddenly had all her maternal instincts at play and convinced the child that the kitten was better off with us! Of course the kid agreed and my mom and dad are now living with “Kitty ” and her band of boys (strays she gangs up with) happy as a family! However, till date we have no idea how the cat found its way to our yard.
Yes, the entire story does sound familiar. A regular Sunday mass going, commandment following, catholic glued to god till one fine day he/she falls into the trap of sin.. and strays away… faaaar faaar away! Sometimes beyond the idea of hope! BUT then we have some one who nudges us back into the very spot we need to.. the family.. the career.. the lockdown .. it takes some one to fight for us.. ( read: Mother mary) and a whole lot of support from guardian angels and saints to get us into the life we ever wanted.
It is hard to figure the way out but we will get there (just like kitty.) Just have hope and loads of faith in his power! This lockdown, I have been bogged down by work, restrictions, homesickness and of course the arduous task of wearing the extra protection and working in summer weather. I have been confined to a 4 walled room and watching mass on my laptop. Boredom, procrastination and worse hopelessness creeps in every few days and lowers my enthusiasm but then in my workplace I am surrounded by some amazing people who lift my spirits and I pray harder and fervently sometimes inconsistently to the one who knows when this will end.
“With uplifted arm he led them out,
and for about forty years he put up with them in the desert.”
He will lead us too….
PRAYER: Help me Lord to find my hope and faith in you. Help me to not let this distance and hurt lead me astray but find that you are my Lord. Guide me Lord! Amen
