I didn’t choose to be a cat person. It was given to me. I came to live in a house a while back which had a cat as part of the fixtures. I didn’t know it at the time. I just moved in and found this cat on the back porch that wouldn’t leave. Someone was feeding her there, so it is no wonder she hung around. Nevertheless, I was not a cat person at the time. In fact, I began by ignoring the critter, hoping it would disappear. Of course, with a free meal offered daily near the premises, why would it? Time passed. The seasons changed, and the warmth of summer’s green turned into the frozen waste of winters white. The cat remained.
One night in late November, I came home after a long and difficult meeting. It was blowing and snowing outside, and I just wanted to get in the house and relax. Sure enough, the cat was there on the back porch, but she was obviously not happy about being there this night. The cold, wind and snow were taking its toll on her, and she kept crying and pacing outside after I shut the door. I tried to ignore her pleas, but I couldn’t. Yes, I weakened and let her into the house, and, as they say, the rest is history.
“Gatto” and I had six pleasant years together, filled with stories about her antics and habits like Baxter has his. In fact, Gatto opened the door for Baxter. I would never have considered being owned by a cat in my own house, if Gatto had not come along. She was an unexpected gift that made me want to give Baxter a home after Gatto died.
We all receive surprise presents in our lives. Some come with planned occasions like birthdays and holidays. Others come and don’t appear to be gifts at first. They may be seen as burdens or unwanted responsibilities. They may demand a change in our routine or ways of doing things. We often resist these impositions, thinking they are not fair or we are not equipped to handle them. But sometimes they prove to be blessings in disguise. They bring out dimensions of ourselves that are good but have lain dormant within us. They challenge us to grow in ways we hadn’t planned or even desired. They focus our attention away from ourselves and our troubles to offer care and concern for another. They expand our horizons on what life has to offer and what we can do to live with a more positive and generous attitude. They are gifts from God covered in unfamiliar wrappings.
As Thanksgiving approaches, reflect upon the blessings that have strayed into your life—an unlikely friendship, an illness that changes your outlook for the better, an unexpected apology, a surprise visit, a plea for help that helps you more. These are God’s fingers rearranging the relationships that knit our lives together in His grace. We may not see them at the time, but their effects are, nonetheless, felt.
Looking back in gratitude deepens our appreciation for how God works with us, and alerts us to look for these kind of surprises in the future. They build on themselves, like Gatto paved the way for Baxter. It’s how God changes our hearts, opens the way to new life, and prepares us for an eternity full of grace-filled surprises.
