Once upon a time there was an older lady named Clara who lived all alone in a big house. 
One Sabbath she went to study and worship at a friend’s house. The gentleman had a calico cat who was very pregnant. That cat sure took a liking to Clara and the feelings were mutual. The owner invited Clara to have one of the soon-to-be born kittens. Delighted at the prospect, Clara said, “Let it be a female!”

     Shortly thereafter there came a knocking at Clara’s door. Lo and behold Clara was presented with Rei Rei.  Assured by all involved that Rei Rei was a female a picture was taken of her wearing an appropriate pink collar.  

     Rei Rei had been removed too early from her Mama and as such cried a great deal and was constantly getting into mischief. She would climb up on the porch screen, jump across the backs of the couches and tug at curtain cords. Pursuit of posies caused broken vases to become routine. The fur was flying!

     It became a challenge to find the right ‘milk’ for Rei Rei since she really couldn’t handle solid food yet. Finally, a mixture of skim milk and almond milk sufficed. Quickly she graduated to a ground mixture of Newman’s Own organic turkey and vegetables. Still Rei Rei was missing her mama.

     When the time came to take Rei Rei to the vet for her rabies shot, Clara reluctantly agreed to an operation to prevent Rei Rei from ever having kittens. It was with sadness that Clara left Rei Rei in the hands of the vet. Later that day Clara received a most unusual call. Clara was told that Rei Rei was really a boy;  she/he had fooled us all! Then the vet proceeded to spay Rei Rei so he won’t be able to produce kitties. It was also agreed that a tag be attached to Rei Rei’s collar so he could be identified.

     The next day when Clara retrived Rei Rei he had a bandaged paw and a funnel over his head to prevent him from disturbing his operation.  Upon advice Clara kept him confined to a bathroom while he was supposedly healing. Clara heard much banging but assumed he was trying to remove the funnel. When Clara finally opened the door she noticed that Rei Rei’s bandaged paw was 5x its normal size and that Rei Rei was limping around. She thought she would free the bandage but it had been applied too tightly. Even as it was a Friday evening, the vet’s office just happened to be open. He said, “Bring him right in”. There was much chatter behind the scenes as to who was responsible for the problem. Meanwhile, a tearful Clara sat in the waiting room. Then the owner of several pet clinics in the area showed up. He praised Clara for her quick action and apologized for the series of mix-ups. He requested to keep Rei Rei until the following afternoon for observation. It was a hard night of separation. The next day Rei Rei appeared much better. Clara was given tips on how to massage the paw to help bring it down to normal size.

     Post operative Rei Rei was considerably calmer. Slowly Clara and Rei Rei began to bond; he loved having his tummy tickled! Everyone noticed the change and that Rei Rei was more looking for Clara when her car would pull up in the driveway.

     But then, just before Clara’s birthday, the unthinkable happened. One day she drove away and watched her kitty through the rear view mirror. That afternoon when she returned home not only did Rei Rei not greet her, he was nowhere to be found. Thus began the search for Rei Rei. The neighbors were alerted. A notice was placed on www.lostmykitty.com Clara searched the roadkill on both sides of the road. Her friend Phillip used a walking stick to search the woods and culverts.

     A full month passed and still no Rei Rei. Praying and refusing to give up hope, Clara left out Rei Rei’s dishes of spring water and dried food. Late one afternoon just before Christmas, Clara pulled into her driveway. When she opened her car door up jumped Rei Rei right into her lap! The reunion was amazing! And so a new era in the life of Rei Rei began. Thankfully Rei Rei did not appear abused, but he sure was hungry. Today Rei Rei wants to be close to home. He is a much more obedient kitty. Like a dog he actually stands by the door and signals a desire to go out. and now, when he greets Clara, he not only runs near her, but actually to her. And then the cuddling begins anew.

     We serve a mighty God who, just like a loving father, wants nothing better than to shower His people with surprise gifts. The moral is never give up and pray that if it be His will, a miracle will happen!