Surprise Gifts from God

A few years ago my husband and I put up bird feeders in the back yard. We loved sitting on our deck and enjoying the chorus of many different bird songs blending together. In May, several chickadees built nests in the multi-tiered bird house. Soon we'd hear the cry of tiny babies as the mothers flew in to feed them. It was our vision to spend the rest of our lives providing food and shelter for the birds so we would have the pleasure of enjoying their gifts of beauty and song.

God had another plan. We found a litter of kittens under our deck one morning, and within a couple of weeks, we counted a total of seventeen kittens and cats, a result of a neighbor abandoning a small colony of semi-feral felines. They took refuge in our back yard, hiding in the bushes and woodpile. To protect the birds, we stopped providing food for them. God has provided in nature a bevy of seeds to feed his feathered friends. However, in an urban subdivision, there is little wildlife to sustain cats...unless we continued to draw in the birds...which went against our hearts. We had the felines neutered/spayed through a trap and release program in exchange for providing food and shelter for the remainder of their lives.

Now instead of birds, we have thirteen furry friends depending on us. At times it is hard to scrape together the money to provide the forty pounds of food they consume in two weeks, but God always finds a way. For these felines, we are their lifeline. You can read the entire story on my website by clicking "My Mission."

Sometimes God knocks and when you open the door, he provides a mission and it is your decision that will determine what you reap. Sure, we gave up what we envisioned for our back yard, but we have gained so much more. Every time we step outside, we are greeted by a furry family who thank us for giving them hope.

I Corinthians 12:4-6 NIV There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

I Corinthians 12:4 NIV There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.