By Ralphine Major

The ordeal started with an early morning noise.  It sounded like a faint cry.  I listened closely and decided it was coming from the garage.  Glancing around, I saw nothing out of the ordinary tools and buckets.  I heard it again.  Someone else heard it, too.  A black cat approached, her eyes scanning all around.  As I watched the anxious cat, the scene started to make sense.  Her kitten had been locked up all night in the garage, and the mother was desperate to find it.

I stepped out of sight, watching in the reflection of the door window.  The mother’s beckoning could rescue the misplaced kitten much quicker than I could.  After a few moments of soft purrs and coaxing, the mother finally emerged.  In her mouth, she carried the little gray kitten by the nape of its neck.  She hurried past the door, wasting no time distancing them from the garage.  Even though I was holding the camera, the protective mother was too quick for me to even snap a photo.  I watched to see where the exhausted mother went.  She found a safe place to rest in the shade of a bush.  The rescued little kitten did not miss a beat.  It jumped and played, chasing its mother’s tail—under the loving mother’s watchful eye.

Another May, another Mother’s Day to honor and celebrate those mothers among us and remember those who have passed on.  For generations, mothers have filled our homes with love and our hearts with inspiration.  So much of their care is behind the scenes as they nurture, help, console, and encourage.  Several authors of the books in the Bible remind us how important it is to show respect to our mothers.  One passage is from Exodus 20:12 (KJV):  “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”  Blessings to all mothers on Mother’s Day and every day!