Jireh
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the Lord it will be provided." Genesis 22:13-14 nasbu
She was insistent and vocal. The skinny black cat at the sun room door was making it clear that she knew very well there were other cats here--and that she knew they surely had some extra food they could spare. She was just skin and bones, and her eyes had that wild, glazed-over look that comes from hunger and malnutrition. Before we could feed her, however, we had to verify that she was, indeed, a she. It wasn't hard. Her prominent teats betrayed that she was either pregnant, or had recently given birth. So bowls of food and water were quickly supplied. Her hunger was matched only by her exhaustion. Her hard life and pregnancy had left her emaciated and weary down to her protruding bones. To give her comfort and to protect her from the other cats in the family we made her at home on the west porch. There she could eat as much as she liked, and sleep without worry of competition or predators. Monday morning we packed her off to the Vet for a good going-over. She got all her shots and, with the exception of a few chigger bites, a clean bill of health. We also confirmed that she was approximately one year old, and no longer pregnant. While the shots do their work and she gains more weight and strength she remains on the west porch, away from the other indoor cats: Donovan and Amelia."Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Luke 12:6-7 nasbu
We did not pray for a replacement for Gilley, who died recently. To do so, in our minds, would have somehow cheapened her loss--a painful memory still fresh in our hearts. There cannot and will not be another Gilhooley. But the Lord does not always wait for our request. He has such intimate knowledge of the sorrows and desires of our hearts, that He knows what we need before it is known to us. God combines the supernatural knowledge and prescience of deity with the tender compassion of a father. Sometimes He provides without being asked. When this new life came into our lives last weekend, we knew that she was a gift--a gift from God. Though we had not said anything to Him, He knew that our family was incomplete. He knew that the time was right for some of our pain to be relieved by the addition of a new life. And, of course, He was right. She is an affectionate delight. Before the end of the first day, she had already found a secure place in our hearts. Abraham was prepared to obey God, to sacrifice his own son upon the altar. But without being asked, God stopped his hand, and provided a different sacrifice. So Abraham named the mount on which God exchanged the ram for Isaac, "The Lord Will Provide"--in Hebrew, "Jehovah-jireh." Tomorrow we will gradually introduce her sisters to our new family member. And when we do, we will introduce her with her new name, the name she was given today: "Jireh." And every time we speak her name we will be reminded of the tender-hearted compassion of our loving God, who sees into our lives, and provides for every need.