when i first moved from seattle to oklahoma, it was january 4th, 1990. my marriage of ten years was breaking apart, and everything was in transition. we were there to attend a church whose pastor had been a guest speaker at another church we went to several years earlier. it was a good move in that respect. i just had no idea i would be here for 17 long years. we rented an apartment, and paid 6 months rent up front.
i was getting tired of fighting. actually, i was doing all the fighting. he was doing all the silence. he had a philosophy about relationships, ours anyway… ‘if i want to know, i’ll ask. if i want to tell him, i will volunteer’. this approach left all the responsibility of communication on me. of course, when one is not interested in communication with the other person, this is a very logical stance to take. well, i was finally worn down, and at the point where i was more willing to be left than i was to be constantly struggling to be a part of the equation. so i agreed to a separation.
‘ok’, he said, ‘maybe you can find some one from church to move in with for a while’. ahahahahaha! no. if you want to leave, you move out. you have the car, the job, the income, and the desire to leave.
it was during this process, that one day while i was home alone, i heard this MEOOOW, MEOOOOOW from somewhere out in the parking lot. so i went to investigate. i stood at the door, calling ‘here kitty kitty’, and by the second ‘kitty’ i had been zoomed upon by a small grey streak from across the lot. i picked the little furry kitten up, and she immediatley climbed up to my shoulder. so we went inside.
she had some intestinal problems at first, but i had a little money so i took her to the vet up the street, and got her some medication. she got a daily bath for about a week, till she was all well. we bonded right off. and we bonded tightly. she became my constant companion while i was at home, and always came to greet me when i got back from an outing. she would answer me when i called her name. she played fetch on the carpeted inside stairs that led down to the front door, when i threw the favored crumpled piece of paper. she was my puppy cat.
there were three times since i have moved here that i faced having to move out with nowhere to move into, and had to find accommodations for my sammy and her cat mate sing, a small siamese i inherited from a relationship that proved disasterous. God always provided something, and i never had to sleep in the street myself either. a month or two in duration each time, and something good came of it. sammy never lost faith in me. and i never lost faith in God.
about five years ago, sammy was dignosed with diabetes. i have a post on this that i wrote some time ago, on how God came through on His promises when sammy and spook, the beau’s cat of the same age, both took ill at the same time. spook developed renal failure, and sammy was found to be diabetic. both died or nearly died, and were given the worst prognosis possible, with the advice to put them to sleep. we opted to stand on the promises God made instead, and saw them come to pass when both cats recovered. spook went on to live another two years or better, and when he passed it was at home, peacefully, and without suffering.
now sammy is facing a second bout of renal trouble. she has been at the veterinary hospital overnight for two days on IV fluids, due to severe dehydration. i have already faced my battle in prayer, and have settled the matter. i will once again stand for her to recover, and when it is her time to pass, it will be peacefully as it was with spook. i made a stand the last time that when she goes to the rainbow bridge, it will not be due to illness and disease. i am standing my ground now. as i always do. God always does His part. i wont be talked out of receiving it.
sammy’sweet little face