For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross ... Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation ... If you continue in the faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant (Colossians 1:19-23 New King James Version Bible). This is a fictional story about Bailey, a common house cat that suffers the death of a relationship and is cruelly cast out into a world he is ill equipped to deal with. Fear grips him and is only assuaged when in the presence of friends he finds on his journey. When he learns about another Friend, an unseen friend, he must decide whether or not he can trust that One even more than he trusts his earthly companions. Late in life I found myself alone in a world that frightened me. For company, I rescued a starving cat in need of a home and tender loving care and as I watched him become healthy and strong, I began to realize some undeniable similarities between his predicament and my own and between his species and my species. Beginning with the most obvious, mankind and creaturekind were both created by the same God on the same day. God breathed life into both animal and man, though only man is made in the image of God. That same Creativity instilled unique traits and abilities into animals and man. He commanded them to be fruitful and multiply because it was important to God that they all continue to exist. While in the Garden, man was commanded to care for the land and the animals, but the Bible also mentions livestock as separate beasts from the wild animals and that suggests that certain ones of the animal kingdom were designated to be of help and service to mankind, not only as food and beasts of burden but as companions and partners. In the past six thousand years, no new species of animal has ever been successfully domesticated. When man sinned, all were banished from the Garden. Being made in the image of God, man was given an independent spirit and the freedom to make his own choices about how he will live and what he will believe. Obviously, man made huge mistakes from the very beginning with that freedom and found that freedom does not mean you do not have to obey certain rules! And I think that most humans would agree that cats exhibit the same freedom of choice as evidenced by the many myths and legends that surround the singularity of cats. But the most compelling similarity of all is the fact that animals suffer from the pain of rejection and cruelty just as we do. In our world today, there are shelters for lost and abused animals and shelters for lost and abused humans. There are homeless dogs and cats and homeless men and women wandering the streets of our cities and the roadsides of the country, searching for a safe and forever home. . I was touched and inspired by this cats plight and began to imagine and do some studying about what pet cats might go through when they suddenly find themselves out alone in a world they are barely able to cope with. This is not just a book about a lost cat. It is a book about all who are lost, animal or man. What path to take? Who to trust? Why are we here? Where is our Forever Home?
