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It was a Sunday afternoon, and we were returning from one of our weekend trips to my mother's home in south Alabama. My husband was driving and our 4-year-old daughter, Nova, was sitting quietly in the backseat. We had just crossed the state line into Florida when our daughter spoke up. "Can I have a kitty?" Her father's immediate response was a resounding "No!" Then his voice softened as he explained that daddy was just not a cat person. We had Gooch, our toy poodle, and that was enough for now. Of course our sweet daughter could not let it go with just that explanation. She told her daddy that it would be her kitty, not his. Still, his answer was no. It was very quiet in the back seat, and I didn't know if Nova was pouting or thinking of another argument -- but I got my answer. "Well, I will just pray to God and ask him for a kitty," she said. And she was quiet again. We continued our journey home, not quite knowing what to say to that comment. We pulled into our driveway just before dark, unloaded our belongings and headed for the back door. We had just closed the gate to the back yard when we heard a noise coming from under the deck. To our amazement, a pitiful looking white, bony, long-legged, huge, green eyed critter shyly crept out from under the deck. It looked at us. We looked at it. Then it made a bee line for our daughter. We were shocked. We advised her not to touch it because it looked very sickly and we had no idea what might be wrong with it. And, it might scratch or bite her. Of course, our words went unheeded, as she immediately bent down and petted that pitiful looking, long-legged, green eyed critter, who was by now winding its bony little body around her. My husband and I stood there for a second taking in the sight. The smile on our daughter's face was radiant as she rubbed and petted the poor cat that was curling around her. I looked at my husband and he looked at me. Then came the words from my husband that changed our lives.... "I'm not telling her she can't have that cat!" We both laughed. We had taught Nova to believe in the power of prayer, and to tell her she couldn't have the cat was out of the question. But we did explain that we had to check around the neighborhood and make sure this kitty wasn't just separated from its family. After all, some other little girl or boy might be very sad that he was missing. Nova understood, but was sure in her little mind that he was not lost -- only not wanted. We brought the kitty into the house, fed him and cleaned him up. We checked around the neighborhood --no one had ever seen this cat before. We contacted the pound and no one had reported a white cat missing. Our next step was to visit the vet for a check up and shots. The vet said the cat was a couple of years old and in pretty good shape considering he was half starved and had been out in the weather. So we brought him back home and there he remained, for many, many years, until he quietly slipped out of our lives just as he had quietly slipped in. Our daughter named him Salem, and he was her kitty from the moment they laid eyes on each other. He was by her side constantly -- slept on her bed, rode in her baby stroller, and lay beside her as she watched TV or colored, or talked on the phone as she grew older. His love for her never wavered nor did her love for him. He grew into the most beautiful, snow white cat with large grape green eyes that could melt any heart. Our daughter is 18 years old now and still misses Salem. He was her "special friend" sent to her by God. She still has a tremendous faith in God and believes that God answers all prayers no matter how small. We thank him for answering the prayer of a small little girl, who wanted nothing more than her own kitty. |
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