The Pastor's Cat

An urban legend...but nevertheless funny:

My friend Dwight recently told a story about the pastor of his church who had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, and tried most everything he could think of to get it to come down, but the kitty would not budge.

The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could reach up and get the kitten.  That, then, is just what he did.  He attached one end of a rope to the tree and the other to his car, and then pulled the tree downward, all the while checking his progress in the car. After getting out and trying unsuccessfully to reach the kitten, he decided that if he went just a little bit further with the car, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. 

But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke.  The tree went  'BOING!' and the kitten instantly sailed through the air - completely out of sight!

Needless to say, the pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood hunting for the animal, asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. Nobody had.  So he prayed, "Lord, I commit this kitten to your keeping," and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food.  Now this woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, "Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?"

She replied, "You won't believe this, Pastor, but..." and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat.  She kept refusing.  Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, "Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it."

She told the pastor, "I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you simply won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. All of a sudden this kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its little paws outspread, and landed right in front of her."

Lesson learned... Never underestimate the power of God and His unique sense of humor.

Five years ago today: Must See TV