Boots the Kitten

The Rector’s Corner, May 2012  

We humans can learn much about faith from God’s other creatures, especially our pets.  I am inspired by an article Little Boots: the Cat that Walked by Faith by Lillian Daniel in the Christmas, 2011, issue of The Christian Century.   A true story, Lillian and her husband came upon this emaciated but loving kitten who was making an empty container of Kentucky Fried Chicken jump in the middle of the street as she attempted to claim any remaining morsels of food.  They took her home and fattened her up but were puzzled by her repeated bumping into furniture and walls until they realized she was blind.  In those early “poor days” of their marriage they moved several times and each time Boots, named after her long black hair and white paws, would have to adjust to a new environment of walls and furniture until she had it figured out.  She never gave up, never was defeated, managed to flourish and continued to love.  She became a model of faith for Lillian because she was willing to push forward into the unknown, probing with her paws, making wrong turns, taking her bumps  and ultimately succeeding, the cat that walked by faith and not by sight.

The day came when Lillian, pregnant with her first child and often perched with Little Boots on her bulging tummy, rising and falling with each breath, found out the kitten had a terminal illness, the cause of the blindness.  She and her husband could not afford the costs of pregnancy/birthing AND the treatments Boots needed.  Lillian fell into a deep depression, wondering how she could care for a newborn, if she couldn’t provide the care needed by Boots, let along become the caring minister she aspired to be.   She stopped caring for herself, stopped eating and bathing and became despondent.  Then a seminary classmate brought her an envelope of money collected by her classmates to pay for the treatments.  She pulled out of her funk and even bathed, much to the relief of her husband and classmates.

Little Boots didn’t make it, but she was with Lillian and her husband long enough for them to learn the lessons of faith and love and trust.  Eighteen years later, that baby boy is going off to college and Lillian has a new challenge to her faith.

God does come through, often not the way we would prefer, and rarely without the help of others.  Animals have the advantage of not much introspection; they tend to live in the present more than we “worry worts.”  It may be that our pets do more for us than we do for them, especially if we let ourselves learn from them.

Another sign of hope in our confused world is the continuing story of Gary Weinstein, the Novi jeweler who was the core of my Easter Sunday sermon.  Gary’s forgiveness of the man responsible for the death of his wife and children was featured on CNN and is the inspiration for a national movement, Project Forgive.  Funds are being raised to make a documentary about Gary Weinstein and the drunken driver he forgave.  You can stay tuned on www.projectforgive.com or in Rochelle Riley’s column in the Detroit Free Press.

Moving now to international church news, Rowan Williams has resigned as Archbishop of Canterbury to return to university teaching.  Dr. Williams is head of the Worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the American Episcopal Church is a member.  It is the second largest Christian denomination in the world.  If the name Rowan Williams sounds familiar, it may be because we pray for him on many Sundays.  Dr. William’s successor will be chosen this summer.  To my surprise a letter came to St. Stephen’s asking us to input the name of any candidate that we would suggest to be the new Archbishop.  Let me know if you have such a name.

I wish you all the blessings of this Paschal season.                          John+