Life has a way of taking you on a rollercoaster of emotions—the good and the bad. With each turn, you drift through different events and circumstances that help to shape your life, and ultimately who you are.
I recently just lost my beloved cat, Paris, of eight years—she was still so young. It is one of the most difficult things in life to have to deal with a loss.
Now to some people, they may think, “a cat… it’s just an animal”. But I can attest for every animal owner and lover, losing a beloved pet, a best friend, is a very hard thing to go through.
The whisper
Putting down my cat after she had been hit by a car was one of the most devastating and hard things I have ever had to do. The grief that I felt was something I had never experienced before.
God comforts in all circumstances. For about a month before her death, I kept hearing this little voice or whisper in my head saying, “Enjoy every moment with her. Take time to pat her, tell her you love her, cuddle her, stroke her face, and appreciate her.”
I didn’t understand at the time what this voice meant, and I thought it was rather strange. In my mind, my cat was going to stay by my side throughout my twenties, hopefully longer. I didn’t find it necessary to think about or prepare myself for her death.
What I realised after she died was that God was preparing and comforting me long before this painful time occurred. I am so glad I listened to the voice and deliberately took time to enjoy my cat when I had her with me.
God understands grief and He understands how we feel when things in our life make a turn for the worst. Isaiah chapter 53, verse four says, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”
God knows
The last day I saw her, I sat on my bed and stroked her face before going out for the afternoon. I heard that voice again and felt the need to just look at her and take my time with her in this moment. My heart is full because I have no regrets. God knew that.
The heaviness I felt after her death was difficult to bear. I couldn’t get through the day without the heaviness pouring out of my eyes. But God doesn’t let his children remain in their sorrow. Nehemiah chapter eight verse 10 says, ‘Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!’
As a symbol of her beautiful life, we bought a rose called ‘silver lining’ to plant on top of her grave. It represented Paris perfectly with one bright lavender coloured rose on it, which to me reflected the outstanding, sassy, beautiful and delightful girl that she was.
Reflecting on this time, I am astounded and feel so blessed by God’s love and grace towards me. God had gone before me and knew what was up ahead. He whispered words of comfort to me that helped to prepare me for what I didn’t know was coming. He is a comforting and loving God, who cares so much, even about the little things.
God’s hand
In the days that followed, my mum and I were looking for a specific type of kitten; a non-allergenic, female Siberian tortie, that we could adopt, as the loss of my beautiful cat was deeply felt, and the house felt empty without her. It needed to be filled again.
Before we made our calls, I said to my mum, “The kitten that is available will be mine.” Not actually knowing that finding this kitten would be an extremely difficult task.
We contacted one cattery and the lady laughed at us and said, “You’d be lucky to find anyone in the country with one right now!” She had a waiting list of 12 people and their next available litter had already been sold. We contacted another cattery and this lady told us she had a waiting list until December of 80 people waiting for kittens. But we were determined.
The amazing part about all of this is the second lady we called, told us that she was in the car with the first lady we contacted, so we told them both the story of our cat and they were reminded of a lady in Tasmania with one kitten ready to go.
We contacted the lady in Tasmania, and she explained that the kitten was a four-month-old female Siberian ‘silver’ Tortie who was the pick of her litter and had been set aside for shows but couldn’t enter any as they had all been cancelled due to lockdown. She had decided to let this one go and take a show cat from the next litter. This was perfect!
We asked for a photo and when she sent it through, mum and I looked at each other and said, “she is gorgeous!” She looked just like my other cat. Thank you, Jesus!
We secured the little kitten and the lady informed us that she could book a flight in two weeks’ time. However, a day later, the lady contacted us again and told us she could fly her up a week earlier—we would get her within four days! I couldn’t believe how incredible this all was.
Perfect plan
Although I will never understand the reason why my cat went through what she did, I love looking at how God healed me and turned my sorrow into joy.
God had aligned all of this perfectly for me. He had gone before me and prepared my heart for the devastating and unexpected event of my cat’s death, whilst also aligning everything else perfectly so that I would be able to have a beautiful little kitten in the house again.
I have always believed that God is a God of miracles. I have seen it happen first-hand numerous times, but it will never cease to astound me just how powerful, perfect and wonderful God is to us.
When I picked up my beautiful little four-month-old kitten from the airport, peering into her travel cage, my goodness—the little hole in my heart was filled. I decided to name her Mirabelle meaning ‘lovely’, and also because it reminded us of the miracle of finding her and the peace that God brought into my heart after loosing Paris.
The connections in all of this are just such an amazing testament to God’s love and compassion. The rose was called ‘silver lining’, my little kitten is a silver tortie—it just all fit perfectly.
God takes care of us, even in the small things. Nothing is too great or too small for God to show his love and care for us. It’s all in the detail.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew chapter 5 verse 4)