Matter of life or death

Jazmine got a kitten for her 4th birthday. We took a family trip to Wal-Mart, bought a cart full of goodies and headed to the shelter in town. We all went into the kitten room and mommy very closely watched how each kitten responded to the children. Two kittens seemed great in my mind. They weren't apprehensive of the two toddlers invading their space, and they both wanted to climb into their laps and be pet. So I told Jazmine which two she could choose from. She chose the black kitten with the white on it's paws. On the drive home the kitten was named "Socks White-Paw Jordan".

There was a downside to this kitten....he had to use the litter box ALL THE TIME! To the point I was worried something wasn't right. I had to place 3 boxes in the house and we still had accidents. Upon taking him to the vet, they said he had something called the corona virus. But that the virus should run it's course in a matter of a couple months. Not the ideal situation but I could deal with it. (And nobody else had the right to complain because *I* do the cleaning around here!)

About a month after we bought the kitten, he SUDDENLY got really sick. Like one day he was normal, healthy, playful kitten, and the next he barely had the energy to jump up onto the bed. The day after that, he couldn't walk up the stairs, he walked like he was dizzy, he would literally fall on his face and collapse when he tried to jump off the bed. (Which he had to CLIMB onto, as he could no longer jump.) We knew something was severely wrong so we took him back to the vet. They ran blood tests, and did a neurological exam on him. The diagnosis came back as FIP. A fatal disease that resulted in what vets think comes from the corona virus mutating. They sadly told us that the kitten was going to die. He may have as long as a month, but probably only a week or two left. I was told that when he reached the point where he was no longer eating and appeared to be in pain, to bring him in and they would take care of him until he passed, or we could choose to put him to sleep if he was that bad. But for sure we would be minus a kitten very very soon. There was NO CHANCE of him surviving.
I was heartbroken. I had fallen in love with the cat, that is for sure. But more than anything, I couldn't begin to imagine how hard it would be to break my daughters heart. She had JUST got the kitten. She knows about pets dying...she knows they are playing with Jesus and one day she'll get to play with them again. But she had just gone through that ordeal 3 times in the last 9 months. I could NOT do that to her again. So I began to pray.

I asked my husband to pray. I asked my mother to pray. And I prayed. I prayed whenever I saw the cat. I prayed while making dinner. I prayed in the shower. I prayed when I woke up in the middle of the night for a drink of water or because the kids woke up. I prayed as I was cleaning his litter box. I prayed while I drove to the store. I prayed anytime I thought of the cat. I begged God for a miracle. I pleaded with Him to please spare this kittens life. I pleaded with him to not make me break my daughters heart. I asked for a miracle so that whenever my husband or myself felt weak in faith, we could see the constant reminder in our own home of the power of prayer. I begged him for the chance to share the story of His miracles.

Slowly it appeared the cat was getting better. I called the vet, and they said it wasn't possible. That it was "false hope". But when I took him in for a check-up a week after they diagnosed him, they couldn't believe their eyes. They were truly expecting to possibly have to put him to sleep at the visit. They, too, called it a miracle. The vet said she had NEVER seen a cat with FIP improve. Especially since it had hit his neurological system so hard. They told me not to get my hopes up too high, but that whatever I was doing to KEEP DOING IT, because it appeared the cat was possibly getting better.

I knew right then that the Lord was answering our prayers. I started to truly believe that our cat was going to LIVE. If you look at him right now, you'd never know he was so sick just a couple months ago. He runs, jumps, and plays like any other kitten. He is full of spunk and personality. Every time I see him jump halfway up the wall to try to catch a shadow or something I remember. I remember that my Lord and Savior gave our family that miracle we begged for. He answered our prayers. He heard our call and answered like He promised us He would.

I prayed constantly because I KNEW this was a matter of life or death. This cat was going to DIE without a miracle. I knew that God could SAVE HIM. So I prayed. It just hit me last night as I was making dinner that for all the people in the world who are not saved by the Lord, IT IS A MATTER OF LIFE OR DEATH FOR THEM!! We need to be praying more diligently for them than we did for our cat!

I have family members whom I have no idea where they stand when it comes to Jesus. I don't know if they are saved. Why don't I ask? What is stopping me? AND WHY DON'T I PRAY FOR THEM CONSTANTLY???? I have loved ones who have accepted Jesus, but are currently struggling with their faith and have major doubts due to life circumstances. WHY DON'T I PRAY FOR THEM CONSTANTLY???? I mean I do pray for them. But not like it is a matter of life or death. And it truly is. Something could happen and they could have their life taken from them in an instant. Jesus could come back at any time. When that happens I want to know without a doubt that they are living eternally with the Father. On top of that, by truly walking with the Lord now, they could LIVE so much more fully here on Earth. They could experience the joy, hope, and peace that comes with walking with Jesus.

So I am going to pray. Pray like it's a matter of life or death. And I am going to believe that their lives will be saved and that they will find their way to the Father.