About twenty years ago, my husband left me with

three young children and a fourth on the way. I was

devastated and so lonely I was physically ill. I was in

a graduate program, working full time, and trying to

provide a secure home for my little ones. We had

sold our nice, large house and purchased a smaller,

not-so-nice one that I could afford on my salary.

As the weather got colder, we were plagued with a

family of mice. I was a mighty brave woman most of

the time, but the sight of a mouse sprinting across my

living room floor could make me tremble. My son and

I still laugh about the time I woke him up at 3am to help

me find and dispose of a mouse. I could hear it

scratching but could not find it. He found it in a small

waste basket, anxiously trying to climb the slick sides

and run for safety. Another night I awoke and in the light

from a street lamp saw a mouse sitting on my big toe

on top of the covers. I kicked as hard as I could, and I

never did know where that little critter landed.

After a couple of weeks of our nightly visitors, I went

into my living room just after dark and surprised not one

but five babies scurrying across the floor. I freaked!

I had known almost all my life that G-d cared for me,

but I had never thought to ask Him for help with my

problem. I raised my voice and my hands toward heaven

and pleaded, "Oh, G-d, please help me with this mouse

problem!" Now, I'm not sure I really believed He would,

but He had other ideas.

Within minutes of that plea, the doorbell rang. It was

a student that I had made arrangements with to drop off

a research paper I was going to type for him (another

way I helped to stretch the budget.) As I opened the door

to let him in, a large, lovely white and black cat sneaked

around the door and into my living room.

"Kitty cat," I said, "Are you the answer to my prayer

about the mouse problem?" I had never allowed an animal

to stay in my house, but I let the cat stay over night. The

next morning I let her out, and she went on her way. The

following evening I heard her meowing outside the front door.

Once again she spent the night in my house. This

happened daily for about two weeks. One night she did not

return to spend the night. Amazingly, neither did the mice!

We never spotted another sign of a mouse in the two

years we lived in that house. Nor did we ever see our

angel cat again.

Did G-d really send that cat? Was she an angel sent to

answer my prayer? Did G-d know that in my time of

weakness I needed Him to show me how much He cared

for even my "small" problems? I believe the answer to all

of those questions is "Yes!" G-d knows and cares and

meets our needs, sometimes in most unexpected ways.

~~~~~~~~~~

A footnote to this story After 18 months, my husband and

I were reunited and next summer we will celebrate our 35th

wedding anniversary. In many small ways, G-d strengthened