Tippy, the garage cat

We have a garage cat.  It's all Ethan's fault.  Ethan is a cat person, and as much as I don't like having so many critters, Tippy is a good cat.  He does his thing, keeps mice away, and he never comes into the house.

Tippy went missing this week.  For three days there was no sign of him, and I was truly afraid that he was lost.  It wouldn't have been so bad, except we had a blizzard roar through Monday through Wednesday, and it was a doozy.  About 8 inches of snow,  lots of wind and temps well below 0.  Poor Tippy.  To top it all off, Ethan is gone this week, and I wasn't sure how I was going to tell him when he gets home that his pet of 7 years was gone, and most likely dead in a snow drift.

When I pulled into the garage this evening I was greeted by Tippy!  He is really hungry, but seems to be happy to be home.

Welcome home, Tippy!

As we talked about his wandering ways I remembered the only other time Tippy has gone missing - in December, during the last blizzard.  Hmmmmm....  I have NO idea where he goes, but could there be a correlation between his disappearances?

Later, in the house, I started to think about the times I take cover, make myself scarce, or even - run away.  Storms ARE scary, howling winds, cold temps, etc are very unpleasant.  So are many things in life.  But no matter how far we run, or where we may hide, God is always with us...always...always...always.  And when we are ready to come home, God is with us too.

It is up to us, the Body of Christ, to welcome the Tippy's of the world home.  To offer words of peace, hope and love.  Fussing at Tippy would do no good. What he needs is a warm place to sleep, plenty of food, clean water and maybe a scratch behind the ears.  The same basics that all of God's children need and deserve - substitute a warm handshake or a hug and a prayer for the scratch behind the ears.

Praying that this may be so, and that I may be used to welcome someone home...

Deborah