It was one of those dreaded things we knew we needed to do. It was just a matter of knowing when. As it turned out, today was the day we said good-bye to our twenty year old cat, Pebbles.

Well, actually she was Amber’s cat, that stayed behind when Amber left the nest. Amber has always been an animal lover and after writing a report on cats that we thought would change her mind on wanting one, we granted her wishes to get a kitten. One day after school, on a whim, we went to the animal shelter and found the perfect kitten.

She wasn’t your typical cat. She was social and friendly and soon won over the heart of  i-don’t-like-cats Mark. She lived every cats dream… living in the great outdoors of our backyard, catching lizards and mice, climbing trees, sunning on the porch, and greeting Mark at the drive most evenings when he came home . It really is amazing that she lived for 20 years as an outdoor cat… with the neighborhood raccoons, possums, armadillos, and such.

She lived through two dogs… Jessie, our sheltie and of course in the last year, big ol’ Max. But she was the queen after all and knew how to let him know she was just that.

Sometimes I would even find them sunning together on the porch.

When you are a friendly cat who has lived a good life for twenty years,

you make lots of friends. She will be missed.

Pebbles and her adopted sister, Tabby, who is just a couple of years younger,

were never really close, as it goes in cat relationships. But on rare occasions they would do this…

They did teach me a valuable lessons a few years ago. After we said good-bye to our sheltie, Jessie, we were dogless for several years, enjoying the freedom and lack of slobber and hair in the house. But then, Amber, came home from college one weekend, with a surprise…

Hailey, the cutest little puppy that grew into a big dog.

Whenever Amber and Hailey would come home for a visit, Tabby, being anti-social, would hide for the whole weekend… staying on the outside of the fence. Pebbles on the other hand, would stand her ground, letting Hailey know that she was Queen indeed. So life was good for Pebbles… she got pats, lovin’, food, and the enjoyment of people. Tabby was robbed of all that by her fear. I did feed her outside the gate… just want to clear that up for those of you that might of thought i was a bad cat owner.

This made me think about the enemy who wants nothing more than to steal, kill, and destroy everything good in our lives. I can either live in fear of that and  live in bondage, unable to enjoy the freedom God gives me to enjoy His gifts. Or I can refuse to live in fear, let the enemy know who’s boss, and truly live life. And just like I would not abandon Tabby even though she was hiding in fear, my heavenly father is always there for me, will never abandon me, and will graciously draw me out into his life giving love.

Rest in peace sweet Pebbles. Thank you for helping me learn more along this journey called life.