Selah

Recently we have seen God’s hand at work in our (former) cat, and it has been a reminder of His faithfulness to us. It has made a few parables become more real to us than ever before. 

Selah, was a cat that I got when Dan and I were still dating. “Selah” is the pause in a song (Psalm) when it’s time to stop and reflect. Our Selah, true to her name, has provided many opportunities for us to stop and reflect on God’s goodness and mercy. It broke our hearts when we needed to give away our cats as a result of preparing to move overseas, but through this God has once again given us reassurance of His love. 

Shortly after we gave Selah to her new wonderful owners, she disappeared and it was believed (because of a broken window screen) that she had gotten out. It amazed us how much effort her new owners (and all their friends and family) put into searching for Selah. It reminded me of the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15 when the shepherd leaves all 99 of his other sheep to search for the one that has wandered away. The search that went on for Selah amazed us. They put out posters, walked around the surrounding area for a few nights in a row, contacted all the vets and shelters in the area, went door to door asking neighbors if they’d seen her, set out cat traps, and used security cameras to try to track her down. Meanwhile, we were all heartbroken and praying that God would provide for her wherever she was. Selah’s new family was determined to never stop searching for Selah until she was found.

After weeks of her being gone, I was beginning to settle in my mind that we were never going to know what happened to Selah. However, it was nearly 6 weeks after she went missing that Selah was finally found! But it wasn’t what we had thought. She had slipped under a loose board and was hiding INSIDE the house. She was clearly afraid and would not come out.

What amazed us (once again) was the effort that this family put forth to get Selah out of the house. Instead of the parable of the lost sheep, it became the parable of the lost coin in which a woman who loses one of her ten extremely valuable coins and searches up and down throughout the house to find it. This family hired a contractor to tear out the ceilings and floors of multiple rooms in the house; they are going to have to completely remodel now. Once she was found, and the house torn apart, she was immediately taken to the vet who was amazed she survived! We are now praising God for sustaining her life in a circumstance that would have been hopeless.

After investigating, the mystery of how she survived was answered and it was not anything we would have guessed. What was it that she lived on? Paintballs! They’re made out of food products, mostly oil, and the space that she was in had several empty casings lying around. Mice had taken them into the crevice, and they were there for her to eat. She now has a long recovery ahead of her, but is now bonding with her owner and knows that she is loved and safe.

Just as these owners worked to no end to search for Selah, two separate times, when she was running from them; God goes to all the more extreme to seek after us when we are running from Him. As much joy as there was when Selah was found, Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” In Matthew 13, Jesus says that we (the kingdom) are like a rare pearl, which a merchant finds and then sells everything so he can purchase it. Just as this family did absolutely everything they possibly could for the sake of Selah’s life, God has given everything for our sake as well. We can trust that he will provide for us, just as He miraculously provided for Selah.

Selah *Pause to reflect*