No Name

How could I say no.... The feeding was over. Another Saturday's work was done. Many of the homeless street crowd who came for the free food had already left. There sat my 'son', staring into the
box which contained the little kitten he had rescued from a road divider.  He had picked it up, washed the dirt off its skinny body, turned a cardboard box into a home by lining it with cloth and paper, even managed to buy a small packet of wet kitty food for it.

He - with his own deformed hands, fresh out of a job, lost his IC and his OKU card - wanted to take care of an animal. What an irony. When I asked him how he was going to manage, he shrugged and said, maybe someone want. Such is hope. My 'son' adopted me many years ago. He was just another 'society reject', a young man with no future, because no one wanted to give him a chance to work. One look at his clawed hands and they would write him off, although those hands were actually very strong and very capable of hard work. So I had simply told him the greatest love-story in the world then, the truth being that even if everyone in the world looked down upon him, even if his own family rejected him, Jesus loves him  and  always will . I had taken those deformed hands in mine, and blessed them. He had decided then to believe  and surprised me by asking if he could be my son, as he wanted to call me his 'Ma.' By the way, he's not a Chinese. I was very touched. How could I say no....

That was years ago. He had disappeared for awhile, as is the norm with these people. But once in a while he would show up, and always he would give me a big hug , call me  'Ma', and tell me he's fine, just busy working. And I would thank God, hug him and pray blessings over him again. Now today, as I look at my 'son', I knew again I couldn't say no. I looked at the mewing kitten in the box.  Actually it was quite a beauty  - white with 3 black spots on its back, and distinctive black ears. But I really didn't need or want another cat in the house.  Maffin, the existing one only knew how to eat and sleep, sleep and eat; it didn't even do what cats are supposed to do - catch rats. But my children didn't mind, in fact they wanted  another cat.  I had said no many times, yet here I was, going back on my own word.

I told my 'street-son' I would take kitty. To my surprise, he started talking to it. And there were tears in his eyes as he said - to a cat - "There, you be good, Ma will take care of you. She give you good home. " Now I had tears in my eyes.  I asked him, what name he wanted for it. He said softly, "God give name." It's been a week now since the cat with no name came to stay. For a small bundle, it's very noisy. And fussy about food. Not to mention it's not litter-trained, so it keeps wallowing in and walking around with poo on its paws .... Now that  I find myself scrubbing smelly poo and urine off the floors, I am regretting saying yes. Maffin the reigning king-cat is sulking and quite upset at the 'intruder'; he's so scared he just avoids the cat with no name and refuses to go anywhere near it. He even prefers to be out in the rain, which is something very unusual for Maffin, because he's an absolute coward when the sky thunders. Well, he will just have to adjust to life with another cat in the house now....Coz my eldest princess just took the cat with no name  to the vet to get it checked out and dewormed. So I figure we are stuck with no-name cat, dirty poo and all.  After all I had been 'charged' to take good care of it; I am supposed to give it a good home.

I imagine that's how it is with Father God in heaven. It struck me how prominently animals feature in the Bible. No cats though, but plenty about lambs, goats, cows, horses, lions, snakes, even birds. As Jesus tells the story, we are His sheep. Apparently sheep are the dumbest of animals. They need a shepherd to lead them to green pastures and clear waters. Otherwise they are apt to do stupid things like wander off from the flock  or fall off a cliff maybe.  I dunno how the cat with no name got lost from its mother and ended up on a road divider,  just a step away from being crushed under moving wheels. But a hero - one human being with clawed hands - plucked it up and out of harm's way. One human being with a soft heart. That made the difference between life and death for this cat with no name.

I can't help comparing and remembering that's what made the difference in my life too. Just like the cat with no name, I didn't even realize I was stuck on the divider between heaven and hell, life and death.  Until a Hero came along and plucked me out of the depths, cleaned me up from all my own dirty poo, and brought me into the everlasting presence of a good good Father. Not a super-hero created out of some comic book, but One who came in the flesh, breathed, died and rose from the grave. How much more super can it get?

This is the God who knows how many hairs are on my head,  I am so precious to Him that He sacrificed the life of His Son for me. Like the good shepherd who cares for his sheep, this One knows and calls me by name.  I don't think anyone can ever grasp or understand the wonder of such knowledge ....  I can't, I can only exclaim with Apostle John, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us....us.... that's me, little me, once lost, now found, once destined for death, now blessed with eternal life. How can I say No to such Love? Why would I - or anyone for that matter - want to say No to such Love?

I have to give the cat with no name a daily bath because it messes itself up with so much dirt. I am sure it's rather traumatic for the creature; I guess that's why instinctively it just lies quietly in my palm as I rub it dry with a towel, and most times it just falls asleep thereafter, right in my hand.   If only  humans could learn to be like that....  after all the endless running around in a messy world, if only we could  just receive the touch of God, let Him clear up the mess His way and hold us in His mighty hand , right close to His very heart; the heart that loves like no other can....for there we shall find rest.

"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him. Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken." - Psalm 62:5-6