In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels… Luke 15:10 (NIV)
Our daughter Jody asked me to watch her cat Jake-O over the weekend while she was out of town. I didn’t mind, although Jake-O was spoiled and fussy. From the moment Jody left him with me, he either hissed at me or hid beneath the sofa.
My day brightened when my husband Wayne, who’d been out of town, arrived home early. I rushed outside to greet him and in my excitement left the front door open. Seeing his opportunity, Jake-O, who’d never been outside and had been declawed, shot out the door and into the woods. Wayne and I searched for hours. We offered a reward for anyone who would return him to us. But by the end of the day, we’d given up hope.
That night all I could think about was poor Jake-O. In a strange environment he’d be unable to find his way back to the house. Without claws he had no way to protect himself and some forest creature was sure to kill him. As I lay in bed, sick at heart, I prayed that the angels would watch over him.
Eventually I fell asleep, but my dreams were filled with Jake-O. I woke to the faint and distant cry of a . . . Could it be a cat? Disoriented, I raced down the hallway. Sure enough, it was Jake-O. He was on the second-story windowsill, peering at me through the glass.
Wayne joined me, and we both marveled at how Jake-O had gotten up so high. Jokingly, Wayne suggested that perhaps an angel had planted him there. I remembered my prayer and smiled. “You know, sweetheart, you just might be right.”
Lord, thank You for caring about those who are lost and for rejoicing when one of them is found, even if it’s a fussy cat named Jake-O.
Excerpted from Patterns of Grace: Devotions from the Heart.
