I love cats. It’s a known fact about me. After all, my nickname is “Ashcatz.” So when I said yes to going on the World Race and leaving behind the comforts of home for a year, this included saying goodbye to my pet cat, Callie. It sounds silly but she was one of my best friends! Whether she was curled around my head in bed, sharing the same pillow as me, or following me around the house from room to room, she was just always there. She was there to cuddle and cry with when I was upset, was there to chase around a red laser light when I needed a laugh, and was there meowing continuously in the car during long drives to my parents’ house. Her presence comforted me, filled me with joy, and I just have never loved an animal that much in my life.
A few nights ago I received a text from my mom that said, “Sweet Callie is scampering around cat heaven.” It felt like my heart froze, forgetting how to beat for a few moments, and I just stared at my phone screen. The overwhelming sadness hit me a couple minutes later and I sobbed out into the darkness of the night, mourning that my feline friend was gone.
The next day, as my team gathered together to sing worship songs and spend an hour in prayer and praise, I was so overcome with thoughts and emotions. “God, why did Callie have to die? Especially while I’m gone, halfway around the world in India?” Once again, grief was heavy in my heart, knowing that when I returned to America after the World Race ended, my cat wouldn’t be there.
But I will be, The Lord answered.
You see, things of this world will pass away. Friends come and go in our lives. But God, the creator of the universe and everything in it, will never, ever disappear. Hebrews 3:13 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” The same God that loved you enormously when you were an infant is the same God that cherishes you right now and is the same God that will infinitely value you for eternity.
The following evening, my team was sitting in a small church in a village. We had just finished singing some worship songs and I was putting my ukulele back in its case when the pastor turned to us and asked who had a testimony to share. Before I even knew what I was doing, I stood up and said that I had a story to share. It’s funny how the Holy Spirit does that to us. As I took the microphone in hand and began explaining how we’ve been battling with loneliness, having been traveling from country to country for six months now, God gave me the words I hadn’t even planned on saying.
I told the women and children about my cat dying and the revelation that Jesus gave me. I talked about how we have a friend in God that can never be taken from us. That His love is so BIG that we can’t even wrap our minds around it. That no matter how alone we may feel, we truly never are. Because Jesus will always be there to welcome us home.
My heart aches over the death of Callie but how beautiful it is that something so painful can be used to proclaim God’s goodness to the world!
