(1992-2004)
Most of you did not have the fortune of knowing Stephen. Some of you may remember the article I wrote about Stephen some 7 years ago. For those of you with memories like mine or who were not receiving the Perihelion back then, I will reprint part of the article before filling you in on the last few months.
Stephen is 5 years old and he was missing from home for 2 days. I was extremely worried because Stephen’s early days on this planet were horrible. Due to some early negligence, he was hit by a car and lost his right foot. He lived in 3 different homes before we adopted him. More accurately, he adopted me. I first saw him just outside my old condo when I was still single. His leg was still bleeding and he was terribly malnourished. In fact, at that time it looked like he might not survive. I gave him some food and then went inside thinking surely someone would be around to take care of him.
A few hours later I opened my door and discovered that he had hobbled over and was waiting for me on my porch. He looked up at me with those big eyes. I had to look away to keep from feeling too sorry for him. After all, I couldn’t take care of him as I am gone traveling all the time. I quickly closed the door and went back inside for a couple more hours. Surely he would be gone this time. I opened the door a crack and there were those big brown eyes looking up at me. He had not moved. The next couple days, the same thing happened. I’d give him a little food in hopes that he wouldn’t starve to death, but kept hoping someone would come and take him home (wherever that might be). Stephen never did complain or whine. And it wasn’t just because he didn’t have the ability to speak. Even if he could have formed words he wouldn’t have complained. That was just Stephen’s nature. Even though he had suffered quite a bit of abuse, he just seemed to be thankful to God for the gift of life.
In case you’re wondering why I didn’t report Stephen to any family protective agencies, it’s because he was a little kitty at the time. He won my heart because he never tried to sneak into my condo or meowed to beg for food. He just sat on my front porch patiently waiting for me to open the door (no matter what time) & looked up at me with those big longing eyes. Our friend Karen Mitchell took him to the vet, who said he might not make it through the night, & she nursed him back to health. Because of all the early hardship & ‘persecution’ he had been through, Karen named him Stephen after the Stephen in the Bible that was persecuted & stoned to death (Acts 6:15 & 7:54-60.)
Kristen & I got married soon after. Since she was bringing her abandoned kitty, Malachi, into the family, I thought we should adopt Stephen, since he had really adopted me earlier. So that’s why I was so heartbroken and worried when someone visiting us accidentally let Stephen out.
We had just moved into the new neighborhood, which he was totally unfamiliar with. He has been an indoor kitty since we took him in, so he’s not used to fending for himself. On top of that, he is missing his back foot, which would make it even tougher for him to get around or protect himself. The kid across the street excitedly told me about wolves or coyotes in the hills nearby that would grab cats and eat them. Thanks! I needed that encouragement.
Due to unusual circumstances, it was 1 ½ days before we realized Stephen was gone. I thought he was just hiding due to repairs and construction on our new house. My heart sank when I finally came to grips with the fact that Stephen was missing. I pictured him trying to find his way back to the old condo or being attacked by dogs or wild animals, unable to protect himself. He had already used up a few of his lives and I was just praying to God that he had a couple more left and that God would protect him. And I also kept seeing his big eyes looking up at me for help, but I was letting him down.
(Due to time & space constraints a few paragraphs will be omitted detailing some of my humorous attempts over the next several hours to find Stephen. If you want to read the original story, I will be happy to email or send it to you.)
It was getting to be late afternoon by now and I was losing hope. I had put food and a bunch of kitty toys out on the porch, hoping he would recognize them. I know some of you are probably thinking, get a grip Larry; it’s just a cat! (Especially the guys who secretly kick cats when their wives or girlfriends aren’t looking.) I never would have guessed that I would have been so sad thinking about losing Stephen. My mind flashed to the passage in Luke 15 about the lost sheep and the prodigal son. If just one sheep of the 100 wanders away, the Shepherd leaves the other 99 and desperately seeks the lost sheep. In the same way, God is heartbroken and desperately longs for us to come back to him when we wander astray. I could see Jesus weeping over Jerusalem and His sorrow for their lost condition (Luke 19:41.) I got just a taste of God’s heart, love and compassion for us and for the lost (II Peter 3:9.) If I was this concerned for a cat, shouldn’t I be more concerned for humans who had wandered from God or even worse, those who had never come to Him for forgiveness. Some are facing a much worse future than Stephen ever would.
One of our neighbors heard a high-pitched squeaking like a frightened animal. She went outside and saw a cat scrunched against a fence, missing some hair and looking generally tattered and scared. She came to get me and I practically ran to get Stephen. I was so happy to see him.
I carried him home, put a robe on his back, killed the fatted calf (I mean fatted tuna) to celebrate because our Stephen was lost but now he was found. He was blind, but . . . well, no actually his eyesight has always been pretty good. Then, I sat him down and we had a good long talk about the dangers of running away from home. By the way, if you’ve wandered away from where you need to be, it may feel at times like no one cares. But I know there is SOMEONE who cares so much that He is looking for you day and night. In fact, He is more heartbroken than you or I can imagine. Why don’t you come home?
Now zoom ahead to August of this year. Stephen had dropped from 12 pounds down to 6 and none of the many tests we had done could determine what was wrong. I was speaking at one of the summer camps, see JBTC, and I called Kristen as I do each evening. It was the second to last night of the camp when she had to "break down" (in more ways than one) and tell me that Stephen had gone down hill so much she had to have him put to sleep. I had not expected that I would never see Stephen again when I left for that camp. He was purring as I petted him good-bye when I left for camp. Needless to say, I was wondering how in the world I was going to get through the last day of camp, let alone be able to speak to kids the next night. I slept about 2 hours that night and wrote a few random thoughts down in memory of Stephen.
One of the things that blew me away was how trusting he was. The last few months we had tried 3 types of medicine to help cure him. Stephen was amazing as we gave him medicine that he obviously did not want. He would accept it in gentle trust because his "parents" (who he knew loved him) were giving it to him. We could not explain anything to him and he could not understand what was going on except that he was trusting us for what was best for him. Our other cat would have been hissing, clawing and scratching to get away, but not Stephen.
So that is the backdrop for what I wrote that night and what happened that last day of camp. I jotted down how trusting Stephen was of his parents and that I only wished I could be half as trusting of my heavenly Father. The next day at camp I was thinking I wanted to go home and be with Kristen. There was no question I would stay and speak but it was because I knew I should & not because I wanted to in my own spirit. That is when I thought of Stephen's trust. He could not understand what his parents were doing but he trusted us. I was emotionally distraught, wondering how I was going to be able to speak, when I thought of Stephen's trust. Just like he trusted without understanding (only that he knew his parents loved him & wanted what was best for him) so I needed to trust my Father even though I could not understand the whys or the timing. So I asked God to help me trust like Stephen did. I suddenly had a peace and trust in God that He had me there for a reason. I just felt a filling of the Spirit & even looked forward to the evening service because of Stephen's trust. I had joked about him being a Christian cat, not only for his name's sake, but also his trusting nature. I realized Stephen was teaching me a lesson in trust after he had gone. He was a Christian cat like none I have ever known before!The following is part of what we wrote in memory of our faithful friend & companion who passed away on Aug. 10th.
Cat Stephens (as Karen Mitchell affectionately referred to him) had a sweet disposition. He never complained and was loyal to the end. Stephen would always greet us at the door enthusiastically with the funny meow he ended up with. He kept Kristen company while Larry was on his travels, even though he would occasionally hide in Larry’s suitcase like he wanted to go along also. When Larry would return, Stephen would inspect his luggage by sniffing every piece. Stephen enjoyed a sunny spot on the carpet and a good chicken dinner (especially KFC to honor Larry’s KY roots.) He won the hearts of many as our friendly welcoming kitty committee.
Our cats are very special to us because they joined us as we began our married life. When people ask if we have kids we say, "no, but we have 2 cats." His absence will be significant to us. We loved him very much and miss him greatly!