They Had to Make a Rule

In case you were wondering, here are a few things that you CANNOT sell on Craigslist:

Obscene material
Stolen property
Weapons
Offers for illegal activity
Illegal drugs
Blood or body fluids
Body parts
Household pets (including their blood, fluids or parts)
Burglary tools
False ID cards
And my favorite: “Restricted or regulated plants and insects, including but not limited to noxious weeds, endangered plant species, or live insects or pests”

There are more but these are the most amusing. To think they had to make a rule against selling body parts online! This leads me to believe that someone has tried. Imagine:
One leg in “like new” condition; $200 or best offer; pictured toe ring not included; cash only

So what does this have to do with the theme “Declaring His Marvelous Work?” Life has been stressful and this bit of useful information provided me with a much-needed laugh this morning. God knew that I needed to crack up over something ridiculous.

I found this list while searching Craigslist for instructions on how to sell items. I guess I better scratch my platelets and those noxious weeds that I dug out of the backyard off the list.

A Reminder that He Cares

Two weeks ago my cat, Lucia, ran away from home. I don’t know if it was the earthquakes we’ve been having (I live in Reno where we’ve had literally hundreds in the past few weeks), if she’d had enough of the dog getting in her face, or both. But one night she took off across the backyard and the next day we couldn’t find her anywhere.

Lucia has been my baby for years. She lays with me when I’m not feeling well, rests on my desk, licks my hair to get attention (okay, that’s a little annoying), and is incredibly sweet. I missed her like crazy. We put up posters, called the animal shelter, alerted friends to keep an eye out for a beautiful tortoise shell cat, everything. We prayed and prayed, “Please help Lucia find her way home.” Ten days later, Lucia (also known as The Queen, Lady Lucia, and Santa Lucia) had not returned. I finally had to accept that she was probably gone for good. Our house backs up to the freeway, our neighborhood is full of dog, it’s not unusual for coyotes to wander down out of the hills, and Lucia is declawed.

Knowing how upset I was my husband presented me with an extra special birthday gift on Thursday. You guessed it: I opened the box to find a new cat—velvet black with piercing green eyes. Deep down I wasn’t quite ready to accept a new Queen. But knowing that he meant to be sweet I doted over her and dubbed her Tatiana (also known as The Grand Duchess, or Tati, which is Nathan’s name for her). After a few minutes I said . . .

“Norm, what if Lucia comes home?”

“J, come on. There is no way.”

Yep, you guessed it again: we found Lucia that same night. I think she smelled an intruder. She’d lost a little weight, was dirty and scared, but our baby was in one piece! And she was home! I considered it my birthday gift from God.

Lucia has become my reminder that God really does care. He took care of her for 10 days. He answered our prayers just when we’d given up on the idea of ever seeing her funny multi-covered face again.

So now, the question remains, what to do with the Grand Duchess. Our house is pretty overrun with animals. But I’m tempted to keep her too. Lucia can be my reminder that God cares and Tatiana can remind me that, even on those days when it seems like he doesn’t get me at all, my husband cares too.

What are your recent reminders that God cares and hears your prayers? I’d love to hear about them!

Cross-posted on Girls, God and the Good Life