After I adopted my dog Scheyer, my home still didn’t feel quite complete. Since my mom is a canine lover and my dad had fallen under the spell of felines, we always had at least one dog and one cat in our family. I started praying for a cat – but not just any cat. I wanted a cat that was exactly like a cat I had growing – a cute calico who was a little mischievous (not too naughty, but silly enough to make me laugh). I also knew I had to have an adult cat because I was a first year attorney at a large law firm and working way too much to train a kitten.

This model of praying was typical for me. I frequently went to God as if He were a genie in a bottle, there to grant my wishes. I spent nearly every moment in prayer asking God for what I wanted instead of praying for, “Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done,” as our Lord instructed us to do in Matthew 6:10.

I was so excited when I found a cat that fit my description at a pet adoption day at a local pet store. I filled out an application for the cat and began daydreaming about how much fun it would be to have a cat of my very own. The next day I received a call from the pet rescue agency that my application was rejected because they did not feel that the cat would do well with a dog. Needless to say I was confused and disappointed – I thought this cat was my “wish” being granted by God.

A few weeks later my co-worker sent me an email explaining that she had found a four-week-old kitten and she needed to find a home for it ASAP. The email had the picture included in this blog article attached. My heart went out to this poor kitten – she was too young to be separated from her mother and a shelter was no place for her (many puppies and kittens die in shelters because their immune systems are not strong enough to be exposed to the diseases that the older animals carry). I agreed to take the kitten on a trial basis – if she ended up being too much work or Scheyer did not get a long with her, I would find a good home for her.

I named the kitten Nolan after one of my favorite Duke Basketball players, Nolan Smith. She was not an adult calico cat like I wanted, but rather a tiny fluff ball that could fit in the palm of my hand (I later learned that she is a most likely a Maine Coon/tabby mix). The night I brought Nolan home, I invited the guy I was dating over to meet my new kitten. Unbeknownst to me, he planned to break up with me, turning what I thought would be a joy filled occasion hanging out with my boyfriend and new kitten, into a somber occasion. After the guy I left, I sat on my couch stunned and numb. Tiny Nolan crawled up my arm, curdled up in a ball on my shoulder and started gently purring, while Scheyer delicately laid his head on my lap. In that moment, I knew Nolan would fit in perfectly to my little family.

Despite being in many ways the opposite of what I wanted, she ended up being perfect for me.   Since the first day I brought her home, Nolan has loved to cuddle. She loves to be held in my arms while she purrs and gives me kisses with her sandpaper-textured tongue. She seems especially sensitive to when I am feeling sad. Another time a different guy broke my heart, Nolan laid on my chest for hours purring and nuzzling me with her face while I sobbed. Nolan is my also my prayer buddy – she loves to sit on my lap or cuddle next to me when I say my prayers. Nolan is well behaved compared to my comical calico growing up, but she entertains me by telling me about her day each night when I return home from work through a series of meows that only she and I understand. I loved the cats I had growing up, but they were more distant and aloof (i.e typical cats). In the beginning I was actually worried there was something wrong with her. I asked one of my co-workers who had rescued many cats and she assured me, “There’s nothing wrong with your cat – she just loves you.” I never knew a cat could be as loving or sensitive as Nolan. While my frisky calico is what our family needed when I was growing up, Nolan’s loving demeanor has made her the perfect companion to help me through the roller coaster of highs and lows which has been my late 20’s and early 30’s.

She also turned out to be the easiest cat I’ve ever owned. Despite being separated from her mother too soon, she was able to eat kitten food right away and suffered no long-term health effects. She instantly learned how to use her litter box. I was worried about how Scheyer would react to Nolan. Scheyer not only didn’t try to eat Nolan, but he turned out to be a great big brother to Nolan. He is so protective of her and I have taken many sweet photos over the years of those two snuggling.

During times when I have wrestled with more consequential decisions than the cat I would own, God has used Nolan as a gentle reminder to trust His will for my life. When I decided that I wanted to leave my law firm job and try to find a position as in-house counsel, I had a tremendous amount of peace knowing that God would lead me to the right place. One job I interviewed for (and was turned down) ended up laying off a significant amount of people two years later. The job I landed has been a blessing in so many ways.

So I call Nolan my beautiful answer to prayer. I am so glad that God did not answer my prayer exactly as I had requested. His will for the cat I would own exceeded my wildest expectations and through this example He reminds me to trust in, and be open to, His will for my life, rather than trying to control and dictate my future.

^“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20.