A stray cat may have no significance to most people, but for a particular season in my life, it represented what life could be.
In the summer of 2021, my girls (4 and 7) and I noticed a brown tabby cat and her two babies trying to find shelter under a car in the garage of the hotel we were living in. The hotel, provided by our school was decked out with extravagant facilities and accommodations; one of the many perks of being international school teachers.
We had been living in this hotel for almost a year. At this time, I was desperately trying to find a way to leave. Chaos and abuse of all kinds swirled around us almost daily. But how could I leave? I barely earned a wage to support myself, let alone enough for my two girls and me. We would be leaving behind accommodations such as free housing, utilities, tuition, and possibly medical care.
On top of that, we were living in a foreign country. I’ve never had to worry about finding a home or paying utilities. Our school made sure that, as foreigners, we were supported in order to thrive and perform well in our workplace. However, our living conditions were contingent on my husband’s job, which meant I was reliant on his wages and his performance.
So many things threatened my security and my girls’ security if I were to leave. Fear gripped my heart with so many questions. Do I take a risk and tell the police what was really going on behind closed doors? And if I do, how would that affect my husband’s job? Would he try to take them? How would that then affect our ability to stay? If I tried to go to a shelter, my kids would have to sacrifice going to a different school: a Korean school. There was no way I could make my children go to a different language school on top of leaving, and stay in a shelter that was designated for two families per room. No beds. One closet. Hardly any belongings.
Anyway, I was intrigued by this cat. How could she find food and shelter on her own and provide for her two little ones? Plagued by this thought, I was determined to make sure she had decent food and water to provide for her babies. So, every week, I went to the pet store and bought a litter of food to ensure proper nutrition for them. Every day, my girls and I would fill up their bowls of food and water, and every day, the cats were hesitant to come out and play. I guess it made sense. These cats were used to being left to their own devices. How could they trust an outsider to provide for their well-being, let alone go near them?
About two months later, we were told we had to move. All the faculty living in this hotel were forced to leave. As time got closer to the date, I was concerned for the cats’ well-being. Who was going to continue feeding this momma and her babies? They were still so small and vulnerable and in need of care. My girls were just as worried, possibly more than me! We committed to pray for these cats and, every so often, check in on them. I was teary-eyed, leaving this family to fend for themselves. For me, this momma represented me, and her babies, my girls. I was so anxious to know if they were going to be okay. A week after moving, praying, and worrying for their well-being, we returned to the hotel to the very same place we used to place food and water. And to my surprise, there was a plate full of cat food brimming to the top.
I stood there astonished, amazed, really, by the fact that God answered our prayers. It wasn’t just the fact that he answered this prayer. He gave me a glimpse of how he would provide for us, too, in the same way he provided for this family of strays. We stayed awhile, praised God, and left, encouraged that we would be okay. Our time had not yet come, but I knew that when it did, we would be okay. And you know what? Two years later, to this day, I am still left amazed and astonished by how far God has carried me, how he has traversed before me, how he has journeyed beside me each step. I knew that the decision to leave would be the hardest decision I would ever make, but in the end, it was also the best one.
"Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:25-34
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