Our pickup truck was parked under a shade tree at the mechanic’s shop for a week. Once we got the call, our family piled into the car to retrieve it. Then we divided up for the trip home.

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I drove the car, following Steve,* who drove the newly repaired truck. For ten miles, we hit top speeds, maneuvering steep curves, and navigating hills that caused my stomach to do flip flops. We both drove this route so often that top speed was normal for us, plus dinner was in the oven, so we were driving against our stomach’s hunger timer. We arrived home, and all four of us piled out of the vehicles.

“Does it seem fixed?” I asked.

Before receiving an answer, a squeal quickly pulled us to the other side of the truck where our youngest, Kaitlynn, was bending over to pick up the tiniest gray kitten. She pulled him to her chest and stared directly at her older sister to lay claim, “He’s mine!”

“But wait! Whaa…? Where did that come from?” I was shocked and confused.

“It jumped off Daddy’s truck tire,” Kaitlynn said.

“No way. There is no way,” Kaitlynn’s dad replied.

“How?” is all I could muster, perplexed by the possibility of what just happened.

“There is just no way,” he said again as he studied the tire well.

The tiny kitten had hung on for ten miles of hang-on-for-your-life driving. Kaitlynn pulled the kitten a little tighter and explained it to all of us in the simplest terms. “I’ve been praying Jesus would send me a kitten, and here he is!”

And there it was. A miracle cat in the hands of a faith-filled child.

Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.

~James 4:2 NLT

At age five, Kaitlynn already knew the power of prayer. She honestly believed Jesus wanted good things for her. Mom and Dad had said “no more cats.” So, in her childlike faith, she went over their heads. She believed in a much bigger and more powerful source than her parents and activated that faith to fruition. What could they say, but acquiesce?

Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you …  become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

~Matthew 18:2-3 NLT

Starting today, let’s pray as if we believe. Pray like a child. Your prayer might not be for a kitten, but God has tailored your answer nonetheless, and He is waiting to provide your heart’s desire.

What do you desire that you have yet to ask God for?

Father God, help me to have unwavering faith, like a small child. In the way I live, love, and pray, help me to trust You as I petition You. Help me to be bold in my belief and walk in the knowledge that You are my provider. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Genre: Nonfiction

Copyright 2022: Kaitlynn’s Kitten: Cynthia Mendenhall: All Rights Reserved