Ren the Cat

A remarkable thing happened this week - and yes, I realize this is off-topic, but hey. It's my blog. I can post whatever I want to!

A friend of mine has a 20 year old, deaf, "Morris" cat named Ren. Ren went missing a week ago Saturday. She looked throughout the neighborhood for Ren, but in vain, and posted this sad news on her facebook page. A prayer was said that Ren might be united with his owner. Sunday went by. No Ren. Monday morning came - she told me that she still hadn't seen him, and feared the worst.

Monday evening I attended a Bible study in another friend's home. I mentioned after we were through with the lesson that my friend was missing Ren, and the other ladies promised to pray that he would be reunited with his family. One woman attending asked me where my friend lived, and I told her - and she realized that she lived not in the same neighborhood, but in the same general area and that she would look for him. Another woman said she lived a few blocks away from the first woman, and that she would also keep an eye out for Ren.

Tuesday. I emailed my friend and asked if she had a photo of Ren she could send me, and she did. I forwarded the photo to my two friends from Bible study so that they would know what he looked like. I forwarded that email about 4:30 on Tuesday afternoon.

If you've made it this far, the best is yet to come. Here's the interesting part: About 9:50 that evening, my friend checked her school email (something she does not do very often from home) and found the photo I had sent her. Ten minutes later, at about 10:00, her children arrived home, and stated that, yes, you guessed it, there was a CAT on the front porch. She looked out her glass door, and indeed, an orange tabby cat was just sitting there on her porch staring back at her. She immediately recognized him from the picture that she had just seen - yes, it was Ren. She called my friend and quickly, Ren was reunited with his loving owners. He was about 1.3 miles from home, and in order to get to my friend's front porch, had to cross a busy thoroughfare. Not only that, but there are literally dozens of houses in my friend's neighborhood. Dozens. There are houses across the street, next to her, on every lot, on every block. Dozens of homes with front porches.

Somehow, someway, Ren the cat ended up on THAT porch. Of THAT house. At THAT time of the evening. Right AFTER she got the email from me with his picture. AFTER I had mentioned it at Bible study. AFTER we had prayed that Ren would be found.

I tell this story and I am humbled and amazed by this obvious answer to prayer. Both Ren's "mom" and "dad" graciously thanked me for what I did to get Ren back home, but it wasn't me. It was nothing less than God, hearing our prayers, and gently picking up a 20 year old deaf cat, and placing him right on my friend's porch, where her children would see him as they came in the door late that night. It was God not only caring for this cat, but loving us through this act of His supernatural working.

I am a Christian, but I gotta say that in my experience, these situations do not happen very often. When they do, I am filled with gratitude and amazement. We serve a God who holds the universe together, and who listens to His children as they ask Him for what they need.

I am also the first to admit that I don't know how this works. I don't understand why some prayers are answered and some are not. I don't know why people suffer, I don't know why God doesn't heal those who ask Him, I don't know why He works in some situations and appears to ignore others, I have no answers. I don't know why bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. I have no speculation - I just flat don't understand it. But my faith is not diminished by these seemingly incongruent responses from God - instead, I marvel all the more at His perfect plans for His children. It isn't mine to understand - that's not my responsibility. If I could understand it, I'd be able to figure God out - and who can do that? Certainly not me and certainly not anyone that I know.

So Ren is safe, and God is honored in this situation. It was a blessing for me to see this unfold right before my very eyes and I pray that my spiritual eyes might glimpse a vision of how the Maker of the universe cares for His own. And for kitties. Dear readers, I hope you will find encouragement and that your faith will be strengthened by reading this story. Blessings to each of you this week.

October busyness

I told somebody the other day that this is the busiest October I think I've ever had. There's lots to do ALREADY and it just keeps coming. I went to an expulsion hearing last week which was quite interesting - I wish I could share details, but, alas, not a good idea. I will say that the student appeared to be pretty casual about the whole thing - I'm not sure she/he grasped the significance of what was happening, or if they did, they didn't care.

Behavior problems continue to be at the top of the page of things I deal with every day. Students these days really do not know how to be kind, courteous, and civil to one another and so, apparently, we have to teach them, but this is sometimes a losing battle. I had a young man in my office last week who had no problem telling me that I wasn't his boss and he didn't have to do what I told him to. He explained to me that I could just call security because he wasn't scared of anybody. He continually tried to engage me in conversation and was more than willing to let me know just what he was going to do or not do - and not only that, but he was telling ME what I could do. I did not reply to him, which frustrated him - and I wondered if he was going to pick up a chair and throw it at me. Did I mention that he's 7?

I've been working with another young student who lives with a single parent who is employed in a job you wouldn't want to tell your grandmother about. This young person has a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush, but is so needy for attention and for positive affirmation that she/he will do about anything for a look or a touch from an adult. And along the way, we've got to teach her/him to read. Did you realize that all students, yes, 100% of our students, have to meet state assessment standards by 2014? The bar is raised every year for reading, math, science and writing, until, by 2014, it will be at 100%. Let's see - 2014 - this kid will be in 5th grade. I wonder what he's gonna be like. Probably NOT passing state assessments, I would guess.

So anyhow, this next week is conferences which means late nights on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. After conferences we always get parent requests for evaluations - I truly have job security I think.

It's been beautiful weather and I've enjoyed every minute of this October. I went to the symphony concert this afternoon - that Gustav Mahler - I enjoyed hearing his Symphony #2 in C Minor - "Resurrection". Century II's rennovation is wonderful - the seats are actually comfortable with a nice amount of space between the rows. (I can say that because I'm not over 6 foot tall, trying to fold my frame like a grasshopper...)

Have a good week, all.