Black and White Surprise

Shortly after my aunt and uncle got married in 1986, my aunt informed me that they had "a black and white surprise" at their house. She didn't elaborate, but it set my imagination running. What could it be?

The next time I visited their apartment was when I met Alley. She was a beautiful kitten and a fantastic feline cousin. My human cousins Annika and Andréa were born later, and they grew up with Alley. I wrote this poem October 20, 2004, shortly after their beautiful cat left us at the age of 18. She lived a good long life and brought a lot of joy to everyone she met.

Alley
1986 - 2004

They had a black and white surprise
What could it be?
A new piano? An episode of Lucy?
Perhaps a figurine set upon the mantle?
Or could it be...?

A black and white kitten!
A surprise and a joy
She pranced and pounced
She stood on her hind legs
As her front paws reached for that yarn

She purred and she played
A house became a home
As she welcomed new family members
The black and white surprise grew into a beautiful cat
As she played with a newborn baby, and then with a toddler
Soon came another baby
And the black and white surprise
Mixed her meows
With the children's joyful coos and squeals of glee.

She was there for all
A joy and a comfort
Always ready and willing to sit on a lap
And be lovingly stroked

And the black and white surprise grew old
As she napped in the yard
And purred on folks' laps
Always a joy
Always a wonderful, loving cat

But her health began to fail
She could no longer run and play
And one day she closed her beautiful eyes
For the last time

There she lies
Those sparkling eyes closed forever in sleep
And we can only remember
An adorable kitten, playful and sweet
A young cat, generous and loving
An aged and wizened feline, majestic and kind

And as always,
A black and white surprise.

Kindness in a Bookstore

It's the age-old question. Well, one of the many. You find the treasures in the store that you can't live without (figuratively speaking, of course), get up to the counter, and discover...how are you going to pay for everything?

That was the issue I faced one day while shopping at my favorite Christian bookstore at our local mall. I had cash with me, but when I got everything up to the counter, they totaled it up...and it was more than I could pay right then. What would I have to eliminate? There was a line behind me, so I had to decide quickly! So I decided I didn't need that really cool t-shirt I wanted. Maybe I could buy it next time. 

Kraken Images/Adobe Stock

I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to get it at that time, but it wasn't a huge deal. Just as I had resigned myself to having to forego buying it, the man behind me in line said, "I can pay for that." 

Once I got over my shock, I asked him the first thing that came to mind: "Will I need to pay you back?" I wasn't sure how I would do so as I didn't know him (and that was before I got my first cell phone), but I felt I had to ask. He assured me I would not need to pay him back.

So it was that I left the store with everything I had been planning to buy, and the kindness of a stranger to thank for it! I never did find out his name, and even if I had, I doubt I'd remember it now, but that small deed was a major encouragement for a teenager.

You never know what impact a simple act of kindness will have to encourage and inspire people. That man taught me that, and continues to inspire me.

Touché!

The Kingdoms of Israel and Aram were at war. The King of Aram was getting really frustrated, though, because somehow Israel seemed to know their battle plans ahead of time and managed to avoid the places the Arameans tried to attack! They went to the locations where they knew the Israelites would be, and over and over, there was nobody there to attack! So much for the element of surprise.

So the Aramean King decided they must have a traitor. He called his army together and said, “All right, who is warning the Israelites what we’re going to do?”

“Nobody,” they replied, “but their prophet Elisha seems to know an awful lot about our plans! He’s been warning their King.” So their new target became Elisha. They had to get him out of the way so they could go back to defeating their enemy! They found him in the city of Dothan, and they surrounded the city. When Elisha’s servant got up, he discovered a bunch of scary enemy soldiers all around the city walls, and they were after Elisha! The servant went to his master, terrified. “Don’t worry,” Elisha said, “There are a lot more people with us than with them!”

Now the servant was confused. “But it’s just you and me. What are you talking about?”

So Elisha prayed, “Lord, please open his eyes!”

His servant couldn’t believe what he saw! The Aramean army may have been surrounding the city of Dothan, but surrounding them, all over the hills, was a powerful army with horses and fiery chariots!

So Elisha prayed again, “Lord, please blind the Aramean army!” So God did that. Then Elisha went up to the enemy and said, “This isn’t the right road or city, but I’d be happy to help you. Follow me!” So Elisha started leading a confused and blind army away from Dothan, making plenty of noise so they would be sure to hear him, since they couldn’t see him.

When they got to where they were going, Elisha prayed, “OK, Lord, please open their eyes now.” The Aramean army was shocked to find themselves in Samaria, right under the nose of the King of Israel!

When the Israelite King saw that Elisha had led the enemy right to them, he was excited. He asked Elisha, “Should I kill them?”

But the prophet had another surprise up his sleeve. Both the Israelites and the Arameans were shocked to hear Elisha’s next words: “Nope! Don’t kill them! I have a better idea…let’s prepare a feast for them and be kind to them instead!”

It was the last thing anyone had expected. The enemy got a big feast, and they went back home with one less enemy. If they were gonna be nice to them, there wasn’t much point in Aram attacking Israel, so the attacks stopped.