And the Tears Will Clear

as i write this morning, our gray tabby cat, bossy, has disappeared.  we inadvertently left our garage doors open overnight, and when i went out to feed our two cats, bossy was not there to greet me as she usually does.  bossy is blind and has cancer.  i fear that she wandered outside the garage and became disoriented.  if that is the case, she wouldn't be able to find her way back.  i've walked around the house calling her and driven around the neighborhood looking for her to no avail.

later this morning i'll go to all the houses nearby to alert our neighbors of bossy's disappearance.  perhaps she will turn up.  she is such a sweet cat and never tires of being petted.  she loves her morning and evening meals.  she's been with us for at least twelve years, having appeared in the yard of our former home one day, a frightened and abandoned kitten.  she made her home under our guest house in the backyard and refused to come out unless coaxed by food.  little by little, she became accustomed to us and her new home, eventually joining our other cats for her meals outside our back door.  she never strayed from our yard and spent most of her time lounging on our deck.  since her blindness, she has stayed in our garage unless we carry her out to our back deck when we sit in the evenings.

it's now later in the day, and bossy has been found!  while i was over talking to one of our neighbors about her, our daughter, who's visiting us for a week, walked across the street calling her.  there is a pasture filled with tall grass there.  it is surrounded by a barbed-wire fence, and bossy was lying the grass just on the other side of the fence.  when she heard our daughter, she began to cry.  fortunately, our daughter heard her and located her.  she picked bossy up and brought her back to our home amidst much rejoicing.  she was none the worse for her adventure and happily took her place on the cool concrete floor of the garage to rest.

being lost is an experience that most of us have known from time to time.  we are so relieved when we find our way back or someone rescues us.  may we be grateful for those who care enough to seek us when we are lost.  may we understand the causes of losing our way.  may we take responsibility for others, helping them find a way back.  may we recognize the value of home and those who care for us.  shalom.