CHAPTER TEN
TILLY AND THE MORNING GLORIES
CHAPTER TEN
Emmie, who became friends with Kiam on her first night at the shelter, also became friends with Tilly and Calvin. She would help out in any special room, except the ones that Gershom had all to himself. Only Gershom saw the cats who were set aside because they could cause others to become sick. Once in a while Carly would go with him, but no one else ever did. One day Gershom told Tilly that he made up his mind long ago that no cat would be left to live out their life alone in this shelter. He told her that the sick and dying cats needed to not only hear about Jesus, but they needed to see Jesus working through other cats. They needed friendship and love like anyone else. Tilly listened to Gershom when he told her this. She wanted to be able to go into the special rooms that he did, but she was afraid. Gershom explained that everybody had a different job to do for Jesus. She was doing what Jesus wanted her to do. That was very important. He told her that she was a part of something that would make this shelter a much better place for all cats who would ever be there.
“How can that be?” Tilly asked him.
“I went by the special rooms that you and Calvin and the others have been helping out in, and they’re not so special anymore,” he told her.
Tilly knew this was true. The cats in the regular rooms, and the cats in the special rooms, were all beginning to move freely around the shelter. Some of the cats who were in the special rooms moved into regular rooms. The cats from the special rooms weren’t as afraid of the cats from the regular rooms. The cats from the regular rooms weren’t as afraid of the cats from the special rooms. More and more cats were eating together, talking to each other, and coming out to be with their friends in the yard.
“It seems everyone is more friendly now,” Tilly told Gershom.
“They sure are,” Gershom answered. “When I first came here, everybody was afraid of everybody else. Anyone who couldn’t put up a fight to defend themselves had to be in a special room. Cats were mean to each other for no reason. Now, even Joey and his friends have begun talking to other cats that a short while ago they would have been mean to.”
Tilly knew this was also true. Joey and Reuel, and the others in their group, had started coming around the special rooms. They seemed interested in helping out. They played with the kittens, and invited other cats to their room.
“You’re right. This is a better place than it used to be,” Tilly replied.
Tilly felt much better after talking to Gershom. She always liked talking with him. He knew how to make others feel loved and needed. When she talked to other cats she tried to be like him, and make them feel loved and needed.
The weeks went by quickly. Tilly saw cats and kittens come into the shelter every week. They were always afraid and lonely at first, but now there were a lot more cats who were willing to reach out and be friends with them. This meant that Gershom and Carly had more time to talk to others about Jesus, and to teach them about what He said.
“It’s so good to have so many friends around,” Carly told Tilly. “That makes it easier for me to do what I really want to do most of all. I really want to help everyone get closer to Jesus and understand the things He said. Back when I had to welcome all the new cats, and help out in all the special rooms, I didn’t have time to talk about Jesus to everyone here. I couldn’t tell them all about the things He said. I prayed that He would send me friends to help. He answered my prayers by sending me all the cats who help.”
“I’ll remember that,” Tilly told Carly.
Tilly did remember Carly’s words. Especially when she went with groups of cats to worship Jesus and to listen to Gershom or Carly teach. She enjoyed learning about Jesus with her friends. She always remembered that without all the cats who helped out with the newcomers or in the special rooms, she would not be able to spend time learning about Jesus.
All the cats were always invited to come with them to worship Jesus and to learn about Him. If they needed help, the other cats would help them. If they couldn’t leave their special room Gershom or Carly would go to see them. The cats would sing songs about how much Jesus loved them and they loved Him. More cats came to believe in Jesus. Many of them prayed to Him and loved Him. They prayed the same way Tilly did with Gershom when she first came to the shelter. Tilly remembered how happy Gershom was when she prayed for Jesus to come into her heart. Now, she was just as happy when she saw other cats become believers in Jesus. Whenever a cat would pray to let Jesus into their heart, Gershom would find out about it, and come to see the new believer.
One day Tilly was talking to a dadcat who had just come into the shelter. He and the momcat had two small kittens with them. The dadcat told Tilly that they used to have three kittens. One of them died when they were living in an old and rundown building. It had gotten very cold, the dadcat explained, and the kitten couldn’t make it through the night even though he and the momcat tried hard to keep everyone warm. The dadcat talked about how hard he tried to take care of his kittens. Tilly sat quietly and listened to him. She knew his heart was broken by the death of his kitten.
“You know, your kitten didn’t just die and go nowhere,” Tilly told the dadcat. “He went to be with Jesus. He’s still alive in heaven. That’s because Jesus has so much love for little kittens that He takes them to be with Him when they die. You see, we have to make a decision to let Jesus into our hearts, because we’re old enough to know about Him. But God said, a long time ago, ‘I will have mercy and compassion on whoever I want to,’ and that includes little kittens who died before they were old enough to know Him.”
The dadcat had never heard about Jesus, so Tilly talked to him about the Son of God. She told the dadcat about being adopted into God’s family. Tilly kept talking until she thought about how much the dadcat loved his little kitten that died. She prayed that she would be able to find the words that would comfort his broken heart. Then, she remembered something that Jesus said.
“Jesus once said that little ones have angels in heaven,” she told the dadcat. “He said that their angels always see the face of God in heaven. That’s how important they are to Him.”
When the dadcat heard this he began to cry. Tilly didn’t know what else to say, so she sat there quietly. After a few minutes the dadcat wiped his tears away.
“You know, Tilly,’ he began, ‘I thought my kitten didn’t matter to anyone except momcat and me. I thought no one cared that he lived and died except us. Now I know that someone named Jesus, Who I didn’t even know, was with us when my kitten was born and when he died. Someone named Jesus loved him before he was even born, and made a place in heaven for him. He cared about him as much as we did. Now, I want to give my heart to Jesus and be adopted into God’s family.”‘
Together, Tilly and the dadcat prayed. The dadcat gave his heart to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit came to live inside him. The dadcat knew this because he felt the hurt in his heart go away, but not completely. The Holy Spirit spoke to his heart, telling him that it will never go away completely until he joins his kitten in heaven. That was God’s promise to him, that his heart would be completely healed when he got to heaven. For now, the Holy Spirit told him, God would give him the love and strength he needed to endure the grief and be a good dadcat. He hugged Tilly and went away to check on his family and tell them about Jesus. Tilly told him to let the helpers know if they needed anything.
A little while later, Tilly saw Carly walking down the long hallway. She went out to talk to her and tell her about the new dadcat. Tilly hadn’t seen Gershom around for a few weeks, but she was sure he would want to come and talk to the dadcat and his family.
“I’ll come back and visit with the dadcat,” Carly told Tilly. “I don’t think Gershom will be able to come.”
“I haven’t seen Gershom around for a while,” Tilly said. “What’s going on?”
Carly was silent for a moment. “Gershom is very sick, Tilly. He’s got what Buddy had. It was something you could get by being bit. Buddy bit Gershom when he was visiting him.”
“But, Buddy died,” Tilly said softly. “Does that mean Gershom is going to die?”
“He might,” Carly answered. “He doesn’t seem to be getting any better. He could leave us soon.”
Tilly sat for a minute as her eyes filled with tears. She couldn’t stop herself from crying. She just couldn’t stand the thought of losing Gershom. He was the first friend she had in this shelter. He loved her and made her feel like she was important after everyone else in her life left her alone. He taught her about Jesus. She didn’t want him to die now or ever. Carly held out her front paws to hug Tilly.
“Tilly, it’s okay to cry. That just shows how much you really love him. We all do. Just remember, what you told the dadcat is true. Even if Gershom leaves us, he’ll be alive in heaven. We’ll have to go on without him for now, but we’ll see him again someday.”
Carly gave Tilly a big hug and said, “later, when you’ve had a little time to rest and pray, I’ll take you to see him. Calvin is visiting with him right now. They have a lot to talk about, so Gershom will need to rest up after their visit. You go get some rest yourself. I’ll go see the new dadcat.”
Tilly watched as Carly walked away. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to be with anyone else right now. She wanted to be alone. She remembered Gershom telling her that you are never alone. God, he told her, is always with us. Right now, Tilly didn’t feel like God was with her. He seemed far away. She wanted to pray. She wanted to feel close to Jesus. But how could she when He was taking her best friend away from her? She walked slowly down the long hallway. She returned to her old room. It was the place where she first met Gershom. Her old cardboard box was still there. She remembered how she ran into it the first morning she was at the shelter. She remembered how sad and afraid she was when she first got here, and how Gershom helped her. She got into the cardboard box. The bed of clean rags was still there. She remembered how she pushed and pulled those rags around, moving them this way and that way, until they made a nice bed for her. She lay down, feeling very tired in her heart.
Lying on her bed, Tilly tried to talk to Jesus, but it seemed she had forgotten how to pray. She tried to remind herself of all the things she told the dadcat. She knew she believed in Jesus. She knew that the things He said when He was here on earth were all true. She knew there was a place called heaven, and that’s where you went to live with Jesus when you died. But, she still didn’t want Gershom to be sick. She especially didn’t want him to leave her now. She didn’t want to lose her friend. She laid there on her bed of clean rags that fit her small body just perfectly, and cried. Suddenly, she heard a soft voice in the room.
“Tilly, are you in here?” It was Kiam. He had found out about Gershom and was looking for her. He stuck his head into the cardboard box. “I’ve been worried about you,” he said. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“I can’t stop crying,” Tilly told him. “I’m trying to be strong so that when I see Gershom I won’t cry.”
“You don’t have to be strong for Gershom,” Kiam said, taking one of her front paws in both of his. “You don’t have to be strong for me, either.”
His eyes filled with tears. Together they cried, and held each other. After they thought they finished crying, they talked quietly about Gershom. They talked about how they met him. They remembered all his teaching. They laughed when they thought about how patient he was with cats who were mean or rude, or who scratched and bit others. Then they remembered that it was one of those cats who had bitten him and made him sick. This made them start crying all over again.