Back in the Winter some time, a cat showed up on my porch. It looked like it had lived eight of its nine lives. The small remnants of his ears were mangled. He had a trail down the middle of his scalp that was oozing purulent nastiness, and he’d pawed at it so much that he’d rubbed most of the hair off his head. I didn’t know if he was a rough-houser or diseased or just incredibly unfortunate.
He was skinny and pitiful to look at, so I fed him. Cooper immediately told me, “Momma! Don’t feed him. He’ll be bringing all his little mange-y cat friends over here.” But that cat was just too sad to look at without trying to do something to help him.
By the next day, Cooper had a changed heart, had named the cat “Fred,” and was ready to bring him in out of the cold. I put my foot down there. I could feed the stray, but I was not dealing with cat hair on my furniture for this guy.
It took a while for Fred to get the memo that he was not allowed inside. He would make a mad dash into any small opening in the door, and he somehow always knew which door we were at. For a while, getting in and out of the house was frustrating and often required a cat-chase.
Fred no longer tries to rush inside (unless it’s raining), but he still meets us at the door, no matter which one, every time we exit. And when we arrive home, he’s waiting eagerly in the driveway. Tonight, I rolled up and saw him leisurely lying on the top of Cooper’s car. This silly cat who was sickly and sad now has a full head of the softest fur. He’s put on some weight and looks healthy. He’s the most laid-back and friendly guy and, by far, the happiest to see me of any critter in existence right now.
Maybe Fred is proof that friendship or even love sometimes comes as something we don’t easily recognize or, at first, might resist. Maybe Fred is an example of internal goodness being overlooked because of external flaws. Maybe Fred teaches that blessing is sometimes hidden in something we might not think we want. Maybe Fred shows that God might grow us through an unexpected thing that requires care and investment we would not have otherwise chosen for ourselves. Or maybe Fred teaches that God can use completely random happenings to make our lives a little better.
