Today is a day of being thankful for many things, but I am focusing on my pet Daisy.

This is Daisy lying on my lap and sleeping peacefully. She doesn’t mind if I cuddle or pet her while she is sleeping. Her favorite touch points are between her ears and under her chin. Sometimes, if she is feeling extra loving, she will roll over on her back and invite me to pet her very soft belly. She is a spoiled cat and I am blessed to have her. For many years, just being near a cat (or dog, for that matter) would set off a sneezing fit and then be shortly followed by an asthma attack. That did not keep us from having pets, but they were the children’s pets, a Pekingnese dog named Mickey and a gray tabby cat named Misty. Once the children left home for college and then marriage, I continued to care for their pets, but I never cuddled with them, knowing that it could leave me with an illness that would be hard to get over. Nevertheless, when Mickey and then Misty passed away over a decade ago, I continued to long for a pet of my own. Three years ago, I begged, cajoled, pleaded and just made myself a nuisance to my husband, trying to persuade him to allow me to have a kitten. My allergies seemed to be under control, more or less, and I was willing to suffer through whatever I had to in order to have a pet of my own. Finally, with my daughter chiming in, my husband gave in and took me to the SPCA. Our grandchildren who were visiting from PA helped us to pick out Daisy. She was already named by the shelter, and I added her middle name of “Tee” since the T’s helped me choose her. From day one, she has been a companion to me, following me around the house, climbing into my lap if I am seated and nuzzling me if she wants attention that I am not giving. We touch noses like an Eskimo kiss and have spent many hours just being together. And my allergies and asthma? No sign of either around Daisy. Nothing! Not one sneeze or cough. That, my friends, is God’s grace, allowing me the desire of my heart to have a pet that I had longed for my entire life. God is good!

What unexpected blessings have you had in your life that God dropped into your life and then later realized that’s what it was? I hope that God blesses you in many ways today, but especially in a way that is a testimony to His great love for you!