Learning More About How "Life" Really Works!

My youngest daughter fell absolutely head over heels in love with the kitty. She and three of the young ladies she works with at our local "Applebees" came over around 11 last evening to fetch the kitten. When Jasmine was 9 her greatest fondness was for cats. She loved them! At one time I think she had over a dozen living in, around, or near the parsonage. You see, they love her, too! I thought about this yesterday as the kitten played around my feet and followed me everywhere I went in the house. Animals have a sense about folks. I had a male Pom that was with me for eighteen years. I learned to trust him about people so much that I used his innate ability to tell what kind of person someone was 100%. If he didn't take an instant liking to them they were to be watched. If he warmed to them after awhile they might be all right. If after a couple three times of being around he didn't care for them and showed it, I needed to be very careful. I sure do miss him. Jazz says her cats can tell if someone is going to be an okay type person. I don't doubt it! The circle of firends she has are a perfet example of the way she lived when she was nine. You see, she lives with five girls, they all rent a fairly large house. Guys don't live with them but do stay over on occasion. One young lady is awaiting the arrival of her boyfriend serving in Iraq, another is in the pre-engagement stage. All of them have friends of every description but only Jazz seems to collect the people. She put it this way, "we got a couple three girls at the house that are adopted, just 'til they can find their own place." Just like when she was little she has surrounded herself with the ones she admires, trusts, loves, and the ones who simply need to be taken care of. She turns 20 tomorrow, and I don't think any parent could be more proud of a child than I am of her. God bless you Jasmine, happy birthday, I love you! I would so enjoy being in her life when she is my age, but that, of course, is an impossibility. Jesus operated along the same lines that Jazz does. He "collected" people from every walk of life. He knew in advance how they fit into God's scheme for living. Even Judas served his purpose. The instincts which God has implanted in us are often missed or dismissed, rather, by a veritable host of possible misunderstandings. How much easier life would be if we just had a pet that could tell us, in advance, everything we needed to know about someone before we put ourselves out on a limb. We do have prayer, though, and prayer can provide even better insights to the character of people, more so, I suspect, than a pet. The "Spirit" of discernment is with us when we seek God's will for our lives. I encourage everyone to give prayer a try, and applaud those who employ the benefits or prayer regularly. Life just seems to work better when we have a 'point' and our 'six' covered. In Christ's Love, Preacher.