CHAPTER TWELVE
TILLY AND THE MORNING GLORIES
CHAPTER TWELVE
Kiam returned from his visit with Gershom. He told Tilly and the others that Gershom was losing strength. He told them that it may not be long before Gershom leaves them. Tilly looked at Carly. She really wanted to see Gershom, but knew Carly loved him as much as she did.
“Gershom has something to tell you,” Carly told Tilly. “I’ve already had time today to see him. You go now. I’ll come back later, if there’s still time.”
Tilly hurried into Gershom’s room. A lot of cats were now sitting or standing around the small special room. Each one had visited him. Some of them had tears in their eyes. Others were talking softly. They knew Gershom was dying. They wanted to be there for him, just as he had been for so many other cats.
Gershom looked at Tilly and smiled as she walked into the room. He was resting on his little bed. She saw that he was much weaker now than he had been just a few hours earlier. He wasn’t able to lift his paw at all when she reached out to hold it.
“Are you afraid, Gershom,” Tilly whispered. “Are you afraid of dying?”
“No,” he answered. “I know that soon I will be with Jesus in heaven. I’m grateful to be given this chance to teach all the other cats here.”
“How can you teach the others while you’re sick, or if you die?” Tilly asked.
“Tilly, they see now that I truly believe in Jesus and the things He taught us. They know that I’m being comforted by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comforts me, and reminds me that today is a very good day. I’m not sitting here hopeless, waiting to die, and believing that death is the end of everything. I feel more alive in my soul than I ever have before. I’m teaching the other cats by showing them how much I believe in Jesus, and His promise to take me to heaven to live with Him forever.”
“When I found out you were sick, I cried and cried,” Tilly told him. “I still believe everything you taught me about Jesus, but I still cried when I thought about not having you here with me.”
“That’s because you love me. I know you do. Jesus has blessed me with so many friends in here. So many cats, who have become strong in Jesus, are prepared to continue the work that He started with me so long ago. That’s a special gift to me.”
“Joey wants to be like you, Gershom. That surprised me.”
Gershom smiled, and laughed softly. “Yes, God is full of surprises. Joey really is a cat who can teach and lead others. He’s very tough inside, because of how hard it
was for him to survive. He was the leader of his old group. His friends respected him, because they knew he would give his life for them. He would never abandon them, no matter what. The problem was that he couldn’t love anyone. He could fight for someone, but he couldn’t really love them. He was filled with hatred because of what happened to him out on the streets. That’s why he picked on those who were different from him. That hatred had to come out somehow.
‘After Buddy died, Joey was angry. He had been the leader of the group for a long time. Now, he was stuck in this shelter. His friends were on their own, except for the few that were here with him. Then Buddy came here sick and died. There was nothing Joey could do to make it better. It was just too much for him to bear.
‘Joey hated me at first. After a while though, he started to listen to my teaching. He asked questions. He learned that it takes more strength not to be hateful or angry. Hate and anger are natural to anyone who has suffered. It takes more strength to suffer and still love others. He wanted to be strong like that. I told him that nobody can be strong like that on their own. He had to get that strength from Jesus. Jesus suffered and still loved others. One day Joey asked Jesus to come into his heart. I was just as surprised as you, Tilly, when I saw how Jesus got hold of Joey, and changed his heart. God isn’t like us, Tilly. We see the outside of someone. God sees their heart. God saw that Joey had the heart of a lion. He was so determined to make sure that nothing got in the way of his new life with Jesus that he went to cats he had picked on and told them he was sorry. Now, he wants to help other cats who are angry and hateful, like he used to be. He wants to help them be strong in the right way. He wants to help them be strong to help others, not strong to hurt others.”
“He even went to see cats that Carly wouldn’t let me see,” Tilly said.
“There’s a special reason for that,” Gershom replied. “We don’t want you taking a chance on getting bit or scratched, because you’ll be leaving soon. I wanted to be the one to tell you that a kind person has chosen you to be their cat. You’ll soon have a home of your own.”
“Really, you know that for sure?” Tilly asked. She felt her heart filling with happiness. Then she remembered that going to a new home of her own meant leaving all her friends here at the shelter. Her eyes filled with tears.
“It’s okay to cry, Tilly,” Gershom said softly. “I know how you feel, because I’m going to a new home too. It’ always hard to leave your friends, but sometimes you must.”
Tilly looked out the window of Gershom’s small room. It was now dark outside.
“How can I serve Jesus?” she asked. “How can I serve Him if I leave here?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Gershom answered. “You can serve Jesus no matter where you are. You will see other cats, some living in homes, some out on the streets. You can show them what Jesus is like by the way you are around them. You can teach them about Jesus. You can pray every day for the cats here, and those you meet out there. Make sure you pray for yourself, and spend time alone thinking about the things Jesus said. That will keep you strong when you have sad times in your life.”
“Can you tell me some things I should remember when I see other cats who don’t know Jesus?” Tilly asked.
“Tell them the things I told you about Jesus. Tell them about the forgiveness he brings us, and how it brings us close to God. Tell them about how the Holy Spirit lives in those who accept Jesus as the Son of God. Remind them that Jesus forgives us, so we must forgive others. Teach them to pray like I showed you. Whenever you meet someone whose heart is broken, because someone they loved has died, tell them that death is not the end of life. Tell them that those who love Jesus live forever in heaven with Him. Then you’ll be serving Jesus.”
“Is Kiam going to stay here, like Joey and Carly and Calvin?” Tilly asked.
“No, he’ll get adopted by kind people. Like you, he’ll find a home outside the shelter. Like you, he’ll take all the things he learned about Jesus in here with him when he leaves. Jesus sends His servants out to every place. He uses us to reach out to those who don’t know Him. He said we are His body on earth. We are His arms and legs. When we hug someone, He’s hugging them through us. When we run to help someone, He’s running to help them through us. Anything you do for Jesus is important. Everyone you meet is important to Jesus. You have to always remember that Jesus doesn’t look at what someone looks like on the outside. He sees their heart. It’s important for us to love Jesus, and to treat others like we want to be treated. That means we treat those who are sick the same way we treat those who are well, with respect and dignity. That means we treat those who are poor the same way we treat those who are rich. That means we show the same respect for those who have no way to make their voice heard as we show to those who can do us great harm. That means we treat those who look different from us just as we want to be treated ourselves. No one is too young or too old to be loved by Jesus. He loves every little kitten who has not even been born yet just as much as He loves the cat who has loved and served Him for years. Jesus loves Reuel the same way He loves you, Tilly. Your adoption is a special gift, because you can use your new freedom to reach out to lost and runaway cats, like Reuel.”
Tilly sat quietly, listening to Gershom. She wanted to spend a lot more time with him, just listening to him and being near him. But she knew he was getting weaker, and closer to leaving her and the others. He had to keep taking deep breaths that made it hard for him to talk. His eyes were closing, and he seemed to be falling asleep. She knew that he would soon leave the shelter and go to his new home in heaven. She had only one more question to ask him before he died.
“Gershom, would you have visited Buddy if you knew this would happen?”
“Oh, yes, Tilly,” he answered. “I would have done it, even if I had known this would happen. I made up my mind a long time ago that no cat would be left alone to die in this shelter. I kept my promise to Jesus. Now, Jesus is keeping my promise by giving me you and Carly and all the others. I’m going home now, but my promise will be kept by all the friends Jesus gave me.”
Gershom closed his eyes as Tilly whispered, “I love you.”
She got up and went into the hallway to let all his friends know that Gershom was close to death. Some of the cats stuck their heads into the room for one last look at him. Some of them cried out to him, telling him they loved him and would miss him. Others walked in and touched his paw gently with theirs. There were many who had tears in their eyes as Carly make her way past them, so she could be with him until he died. He no longer opened his eyes when Carly touched him or spoke to him. Still, she talked to him, reminding him that he would soon be with Jesus in heaven.
Outside, in the darkness, a lone bird began to sing as a voice that no one in the shelter could hear alerted angels who watched over the cats in the shelter by saying, “get ready. He’s coming home.” The angels gathered together. One of them carried the beautiful, white, gown that belonged to Gershom. This was the gown of salvation, the gift that Jesus gave Gershom. It meant that Gershom believed in Jesus and all his sins were forgiven. Another angel carried a wonderful, colorful, robe. Every time Gershom had obeyed Jesus another colorful thread was added to this robe. Each color meant another special gift or favor that Gershom would get from God.
The angel carrying the gown of salvation went in to get Gershom, and bring him out of the shelter. All the other angels stood aside, because they knew he had to have his gown on before they could take him to heaven. The angel carrying the colorful robe knew that it would fit Gershom only after he put on his gown.
Carly was holding Gershom’s paw when he died. She did not see the angel carrying the gown of salvation. All she could see was that Gershom was no longer breathing. Quietly, she got up to tell the others that he had gone home to heaven.
One of Tilly’s friends from the special rooms sat next to the door of Gershom’s room. Tilly knew that she, like Calvin, had been seriously hurt in an accident. She was slow and couldn’t do much around the shelter. She often refused help from the other cats. She liked to spend time alone in her cagebox in her room. She rarely talked to anyone.
Now, she began to sing. At first she sang quietly. Her voice was beautiful. She sang a special song that she made up herself. It was a song that praised Jesus, and thanked Him for giving Gershom a new home in heaven. She began to sing more loudly, and her beautiful voice singing praises to Jesus, the Son of God, made all the cats stop talking and listen. A few of the other cats began to sing. Then a few more joined in. Soon, all the cats were singing to Jesus. All the cats sang together, no matter how young or old they were. They sang together, no matter how long or short their fur coats were. They sang together, no matter how weak or strong they were. Even the cats who couldn’t leave their special rooms joined in singing from wherever they were. All the cats sang together.
Jesus heard them singing. He listened as they sang, and He set aside a place in heaven for each of them. When the time came for each of them to die, their special place in heaven would still be there for them.
They sang until it was time for the shelter to close for the night. They knew it was almost time to return to their own rooms. As they hugged each other on their way back to their rooms, Calvin suddenly pointed toward the window of Gershom’s room.
“Look outside,” he cried out. “The morning glories—the morning glories are blooming. It’s dark outside, and the morning glories are blooming. They’re not supposed to bloom at night, but they are.”
Tilly looked at the beautiful morning glories blooming in the darkness of the night. She saw them blooming with her eyes. She felt them blooming in her heart. She knew in her heart that Gershom’s words would be with her forever.
Today is a very good day.