Jenny the Cat

*Originally Published May 9th 2015*

Have you ever thought about how sometimes change is required for growth to take place in one's life?

Sometimes we have to give up something good for something even better.

Sometimes one can realize these important lessons in life while watching animals. Such was the case when I adopted my cat, Jenny.

I'd set my heart on getting a cat. Two of my brothers had cats and I was hoping to get one too. So, Mom and I went to the cat shelter where the boys had adopted their cats.

The building was crawling with cats... At first, I thought I was going to have a hard time choosing... They were all so adorable. But there was one cat I had seen on their website that I was planning on asking about. Jenny.

She was a really pretty kitty, somewhat shy and older than a lot of the other cats at the shelter. Turned out that she'd been there the better part of two years; her entire life!

After a couple minutes of deliberation, I knew that Jenny was the cat I wanted. A matter of fact, I knew that I would forever feel guilt if I didn't adopt Jenny because she was the perfect cat for me.

But when I tried to pick her up and place her in the pet carrier, she panicked and ran away. Things escalated quickly, and soon she was in a full-blown panic attack, running to and fro in an attempt to escape the fate of the pet carrier.

I had to step back, and allow the shelter's volunteers to capture her for me. I was struck with a profound feeling of sadness for the fact that she was so scared and didn't know that I was just there to help her...

She'd been there all her life, and though it was better than living on the street, she had never known the love of a family and the security of a permanent home.

This is when I began thinking of all the times that God tries to lead one of us humans to better things in life, and we're all too willing to settle for something mediocre.

It inspired me to write a little verse, almost on the spot:

Moving on, to the place where you belong,
Moving on, like a bittersweet song,
Moving on, oh you put up a fight,
But in the end, moving on was just right.

It took some time, but Jenny eventually settled in at our place and now is a very happy kitty enjoying everything that she didn't have before.

Don't be afraid to listen for God's voice and leave behind what you know, for something better.