I was recently approached by a parent of a child in our church, and told that the child would be coming to me to ask about getting a new kitten. The parent said they had told their child that cats were evil, and that they could ask me and I would verify that fact. I was encouraged to give the child the same answer when she came to me later.

Sure enough, she came up to me with a friend, after a worship service, and asked what I thought about cats. And since I did not disagree with the parents' assessment, I told her that they are indeed evil. Remember, thousands of years ago, cats were worshiped as gods, and they have never forgotten this. (Full disclosure, after a little extra cajoling, I admitted to the child that her parents had put me up to saying that, and that she should really pressure her parents harder to get a cat!)

All of that reminds me of an old story--supposedly true, but you know how things are with preacher stories--about a small-town pastor who had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered him a bowl of milk, and tried everything he knew, but the kitty would not come down.

The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he threw a rope over a limb, and then tied it to his car and backed away, the tree would bend down, and he could then reach up and get the kitten.

He did all this, checking his progress in the car frequently, then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the little scaredy-cat. But as he moved a little further forward, the rope broke. The tree went "boing!" and the kitten instantly sailed through the air--out of sight.

The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they had seen a little kitten, dead or alive. No, nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, "Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping," and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. Now this woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, "Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?"

She replied, "You won't believe this Pastor," and told him about how her little girl had been begging for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so out of frustration the Mom finally told her little girl, "Well if God drops you a cat from heaven, I'll let you keep it."

She told the pastor, "I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and beg God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its little paws outspread, and landed right in front of her."

God has a way of doing that sometimes, dropping His blessings into our lap, and all He asks us is what we trust Him enough to pray. Simple, childlike faith believes God enough to ask. So, what are you asking Him for today? Whatever it is, look up...and be careful! You just might get what you ask for!

"I lift my eyes up to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2)

I'm praying for you, as I hope you are for me, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday.

--Pastor Ken