MARRIAGE
My Husband, The Cat's Meow
By Sarah Pollak
CBN.com – “Make a list of everything you want in a new cat…”
My cat, Gabrielle, had died only two months before. She was my fuzzy confidant all through my teen and early twenties. Devastated, my Dad suggested that it was time to get a new cat.
“Make a list,” he said. “Then pray over it and see what God does.”
I was thinking, you’ve got to be kidding me! It was beyond silly, but not wanting to rock the boat I wrote up a list. I got crazy with my “What I am Looking for in a Cat” list like…“hypoallergenic, one cat entertainment system, dog-like”. I said a prayer thinking yeah, God, let’s see what you can do with that!
A week later, I was in the pound meandering around the cat room-thirty yowling kitties vying for my attention. And then one little black and white cat caught my attention…if you could call him a cat. He was more like wiry fuzz with whiskers. He was very sick and he was the stinkiest cat I’d ever smelled! He was just sitting there, silently staring out at everyone. My friend said, “Gee, Sarah, I think he’s already dead!”
As corny as it sounds, I felt like God impressed on me that this was His cat for me! At first glance, he didn’t seem to fit my list, but he seemed to have the rough material for a good pet. It was decided. The little guy was coming home with me.
After a bath and time to sleep off his kitty hang over from some antibiotics, he was a new cat. Over the coming months and years, “Miayer” has turned out to be everything on that silly list and more.
When I began to get antsy about wanting to get married, Dad said, “Make a list and pray over it”. In that moment, it was like God was telling me, “If I can give you the desires of your heart with a cat, how much more can I do with a husband!?!?”
So, I made a list and prayed over it…and waited and waited…and waited some more. I grew frustrated with waiting for God to bring along a husband. I went straight to the local bookstore. I Kissed Dating Goodbye was right next to I Gave Dating a Chance; Lady in Waiting was sitting there next to Dateable: Are you? Are they? Completely confused, I stormed out of the store empty handed. If Christians couldn’t even agree on the best way to date…or not date…then how was I supposed to figure things out?
I got to the place where I thought, “I’ve got to look beyond books and singles conferences!” They were helpful to a point, but I found myself saying, “that’s all good, God, but what do you want ME to do?” It was time to seek the ultimate Matchmaker. It was then I decided to begin running flat out towards Christ. No getting hung up in formulas, just learning to grow more in love with the lover of my soul - pouring myself in to worship, Bible reading and godly friends.
I wish I could say like so many novels, I was so spiritual that “my desire for a mate faded away and all that was left was Jesus”. I won’t lie to you, it was a rough road. One day I would have complete faith. The next I’d look at my married and dating friends and wig out. But God gradually led me to a new and better place in my relationship with Him. My focus sharpened on the Lord. I began to see that there was a finish line at the end of the course and it was up to me how I ran the race…bitter and angry or trusting that God would take care of everything along the road.
When the timing was right, He opened my eyes to see my good friend Paul also running flat out towards Christ keeping pace right next to me. Friends for six years, we had dated other people and moved in and out of social circles together. At first glance, he wasn’t exactly what I thought God would bring along. For example, he was a math wizard, electrical engineer. But we had all the “deal breaker” characteristics in common…we were both believers, we had common goals and we seemed very compatible.
And then, just like the day I stood in the pound and God impressed on me that Miayer was the cat for me, the Lord opened the eyes of my heart to see that Paul was the man for me. I knew deep down he was God’s man and my friends, family and pastor agreed, I knew everything else would work itself out. Now, I am not saying Paul was at death’s door and ultra smelly like Miayer, but it was the same sort of trust. (Although he and his roommate would leave dirty dishes in the sink of their bachelor pad until they pretty much sprouted stinky forests of mold!)
Eleven months later we were married. With good home cooking, love and Dawn dish detergent, Paul has proven to be everything on my list and more. In the two years we have been married, we have faced many difficult hurdles in our race. I’ve fallen down, but he helps me get back up and vice versa. After our two and a half years of marriage, I cannot picture life with out my running mate.
So, as you finish reading this article…I encourage you pray, “Okay, God. This is all good, but what do you want me to do?”
Sarah Pollak is a reporter for CBN News.
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