Psalm 37:23

²³ The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives.

New Living Translation

I have been comforted by the concept expressed in this passage the last couple of days. Perhaps this is not the most important crisis in life, and many people think it is silly, but I have been greatly saddened over the loss of my cat, Snowball. He has been my friend and companion for over 10 years.

There was a special bond between us. He was very sick when we got him as a kitten, and I worked hard to keep him alive. The struggle went on for a couple months, as he fought an infection with the intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia.

He was never a beautiful cat to look at, but he was my baby. He woke me up at 5 am when he was a kitten by licking my eyelids. Over the years, we developed a bedtime ritual. He started out lying on my chest, purring and enjoying my scratching him beneath his chin. As I was ready to fall asleep, he moved down to my feet, being wise enough to not actually touch me - I can't sleep if anyone is touching me. Early in the morning, about half an hour before I had to get up, he would once again lay on my chest and purr.

Snowball had to be put down on Tuesday, because he was very sick with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus - the kitty version of AIDS. It has been very lonely without him. I rarely cried, but Tuesday morning, I held him in the vet's office for 20 minutes, unable to stop the flow of tears.

He was only a cat. He was not one of my children, or my husband, or any human friend. But still, he was an important part of my life. And God saw my grief. How I felt mattered to Him.

That speaks more to me about the character of God than hearing about His power or might. His compassion, and His involvement in the day to day hurts, trials, and victories of life mean more to me than His position as Ruler of the Universe. God cares about me. He cared about Snowball, because I cared about him. God cares about my sadness.

A God who is that personal, that compassionate and loving, is a God I can trust my entire life to.