They Remember!

One Christmas Eve when my sons were younger, we all went for a walk in the softly falling snow, enjoying the wonder of Christmas and the brightly coloured lights and outdoor decorations. I remember the evening very well. As we were leaving the house, our grey and white cat named Charlie came running after us. We initially tried to discourage him from following, but the cat was stubborn and wanted to be with us on that special night. It was like Charlie sensed that that night was different from all other nights.

Even though our walk was long, Charlie kept up. We crossed a main road and were about six blocks from our house when suddenly a large untied and unfenced dog came rushing out of a yard barking ferociously at Charlie. Frightened, our cat bolted. We called for Charlie and searched through the bushes and trees to find him. But we never found any sign of Charlie. We knew he was smart though, and would find his way back home, so we continued on our walk. We figured he would be there at our front door to greet us when we arrived.

When we arrived home, however, we found, to our great concern, that Charlie was not there. So that evening, during our family devotions and prayer, we prayed for Charlie's safe return.

The next day was Christmas and still Charlie was nowhere to be found. After the presents were opened and we had eaten a warm breakfast, my sons and I went back to the neighbourhood Charlie was last seen to look for him. We called out his name many, many times, but Charlie never came. Every day for weeks one of us would eagerly open the front door hoping to find Charlie there waiting to come in, but we were always disappointed. Weeks turned into months and our hopes of ever seeing Charlie again faded.

We never forgot Charlie though. Every time I opened up a can of tuna, I still thought of him because as soon as he heard our can opener, he would instantly get up and run towards the kitchen in eager hopes it would be tuna. I always poured the tuna juice into his food dish. I missed Charlie. We all did, but especially my oldest son, who dearly loves cats.

About nine months passed since Charlie went missing that Christmas eve. Then one day, the unexpected happened. For some reason, I was drawn to look out my living room window. That was when I spotted the answer to a long-ago prayer. Charlie was standing at the edge of the street sniffing the grass of our front lawn. I couldn't believe my eyes! I ran as quickly as I could downstairs to open the front door to call out to him, "Charlie!" He recognized his name. He remembered! He immediately looked up and came running. As I was hugging him, I yelled out to my sons to come. We were all ecstatic and in disbelief. Charlie had come home!

As my sons were petting Charlie, I noticed a large indentation on the side of his stomach. On closer inspection, I saw that it was once a large open wound that had healed over. What had happened to Charlie? Where was Charlie for the last nine months? Only God knows. All we knew was that Charlie had finally come home and we were elated! I opened a can of tuna to celebrate. Charlie hadn't forgotten. He came running as usual.

If you have a son or daughter, a friend or relative who has lost his/her way and needs to return home to family values and God — don't give up. Keep praying and have hope. God is hearing your prayers and is working to answer them. Your loved one hasn't forgotten the good memories of home, nor has he/she forgotten all that you taught them about God. They remember, and God is working to draw them back. They may have scars from living life out of the will of God, but they remember! The Bible says that the Holy Spirit of God reminds them.

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send

in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you

of everything I have said to you."

John 14:26

One day, at the right moment, God is going to call out to your lost loved one, and they will remember and come running back into the loving arms of God.