Thursday, September 15, 2016

God Knows Best

Sadly, we lost our 20 year old Maine Coon cat Silver (pictured below) about a month ago.  Hard saying goodbye to this sweet, sweet kitty.  Nevertheless, I felt it was imperative to find another cat to replace her as soon as possible to lessen our grief.   I looked up Maine Coon breeders on the internet and discovered that  these types of cats can be rather expensive (too much for my paycheck).  As a result, I looked up "Maine Coon" adoption agencies or pet finder sources.  Finding cats on these websites were considerably less costly.  I began searching for Silver's replacement diligently.

However, about four days after Silver's death, my wife made a visit to the local humane society and fell in love with an adorable eight week old tabby kitten named, "Amethyst" (also pictured below).  He perhaps was a Maine coon mix but wasn't the pure Maine coon we had wanted.  Yet, Amethyst was welcomed into our home and continues to grow as an adorable kitty.  We changed his name to "Maverick" ("Amethyst" just didn't seem to fit him plus was difficult to pronounce) and continue to become more in love with this precious pet.  Although he is still growing, climbing on the furniture and other mischief, I have a sense he will be a wonderful kitty in the years to come.  I am daily discovering that Maverick was not necessarily the pet we wanted but the cat God knew we needed.

Isn't that what happens so often in life?  There are things that we want, things we feel are absolutely essential, but God has different plans which ultimately are better for our welfare.  We desire a fatter paycheck, a job with less stress, even a cure for our sickness but God, in His wisdom, thinks otherwise.  In II Corinthians 12, Paul pleaded with God to remove a thorn in his flesh which was causing him great distress.  However, God's response was opposite to Paul's desire and allowed the thorn to remain.  Yet, Paul learned something greater in that "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.." (II Corinthians 12:9).  The hurtful thorn became a witness to God's power.  Dare I say it, but it seems like Paul ultimately was grateful for the thorn.

So, in dealing with any difficulty, some great advice to remember is that God knows best and knows ideally how to respond in any situation.  We want the cancer gone as soon as possible.  We want the job situation to change overnight.  We want our thorns to be removed but God thinks otherwise.  Yet, we must remember that a God of love allows such things to continue or provides a suitable replacement.   

So, we still miss Silver in our home on a daily basis.  But, you know what?  I think Maverick is going to do just fine.