The LORD is good to all; His compassion rests on all He has made. Psalm 145:9 Berean Standard Bible

I was careless, and Gizmo, our adventure-seeking cat, escaped through an open window.

Gizmo and Jason are indoor cats. Jason is content, but Gizmo longs to explore the great outdoors. Birds and squirrels call to him. We have to be vigilant when bringing in groceries or leaving through the back door. And we pray daily.

He has managed to slip past our feet eight to ten times in his life. Usually he hides under my car or in the bushes. Only by working together have Mike and I managed to grab him.

Early Sunday morning, in an effort to air out the house, I opened a back window, not realizing that the screen had been removed last summer to make cleaning easier.

Ten minutes later, as I shut the window, my heart sank. I instantly knew that Gizmo had escaped.

Running out back in sandals and my jammies, I started crying out to the Lord. I quickly made my way down our steep backyard slope to the edge of our lot. The grass was wet with dew. Climbing back up, I moved across the lawn, hollering, “Gizmo!” Never has he come when we called.

At the same time, I recognized the danger of my Birkenstock sandals and went back inside to change into sneakers. A few months ago, I almost twisted an ankle while rushing into the house.

Mike came out of the bedroom to grab coffee, and I quickly explained what had happened. We held hands and prayed, and then he joined me outside.

Throughout the next 45 minutes, I pleaded with God, affirming, “Father, You can be a GPS to Little Giz and direct him back to us. You rule over all Your creation!”

I moved up and down the quiet street out front, thankful there was no neighborhood traffic on that early Sunday morning. After texting five friends to pray, I caught sight of a flash of white fur darting across our backyard.

I traipsed across the neighbors’ lawn, circling their house twice—front, sides, and back.

Then I looked toward the yard two doors down and spotted Gizmo standing at their patio door, pitifully mewing.

I bent down, stuck my arms through the black bars enclosing their backyard, and called to our beloved, quirky cat. For the first time ever, he slowly came toward my outstretched arms. He drew near enough for me to grab his collar and gently squeeze him through the vertical bars.

Clasping him firmly, I praised God and carried him into the house.

As I yelled out the good news to Mike, I realized that not only had the Lord changed the will of this little creature so that he returned to me, but He had also prevented both Mike and me from slipping, twisting, or even breaking an ankle on the dew-soaked slope of our backyard.

We leave for Italy in a week, and that would have been a bitter blow to our plans for walking throughout the country.

The overwhelming kindness of God has stayed with me. Our Father truly is sovereign over everything in the universe—not only over all His creation, but also over all that man does and builds.

On Sunday, I witnessed Him rule over the natural instincts of animals and over human carelessness.

I take this display of tender mercy as an invitation to trust Him all the more with every detail of our upcoming trip—the foreseen and the unforeseen.

I will “relax and know that He is God.” Psalm 46:10