In a previous post I shared how a live cam on Ustream of a stray cat and her kittens rescued by a woman in Pittsburgh, PA had caught the attention of the world. Thousands followed the escapade of Noodles and her kittens and shed tears as they grew up and went on to their permanent homes.

This may seem like a story reserved for cat lovers but I couldn’t help but notice a universal theme.

To review the scenario:

• A woman takes pity on a stray, pregnant cat and takes her into her home.
• Five weeks later the cat bears seven kittens.
• Care and love are lavished with tremendous generosity on the cat and kittens.
• One kitten is a tiny runt with no hair. He is so small that the chat community is concerned for him.
• The mother cat is especially solicitous towards the runt. The community takes notice and falls in love with the runt and roots for him.
• The cat and kittens thrive under the care they’re receiving and blossom into beautiful young cats, perfectly socialized and affectionate with humans.

• 

  The runt especially blossoms, turning into a large, fluffy and sweet beauty.

• The girls are gorgeous tortis, the boys lean and handsome gingers.
• The adoptions go well and the kittens go home.

End of story. Or is it?

In the midst of a dark, chaotic and polarized world, a small international community grows around creatures given a home, love and care. The love is contagious and soon the community cares for the cat and kittens. And then people in community begin to care for each other.

It proves something I’ve suspected for a long time: love begets love.

We are created to seek goodness, love and beauty. We long for light, not darkness, but we get pulled off course.

We seek happiness from the outside: from the glitzy, glamorous, sexy, exciting, unwholesome and even dangerous when it fact, it dwells within, simply and quietly, waiting for us.

In an ugly world the site of a cat and her kittens being so generously cared for is attractive and touches the heart. And it drew people in like a moth to a flame.

This wasn’t just a story about cats: this is about us.

One person took a chance fostering these kittens. She accepted the risk, laid out her money, gave of her time, and poured out her heart. Although many in the chat community are sad at the departure of the family, this person must feel especially drained and heartbroken.

Happily ever after

The story, however, has a happy ending. No one in the community could deny the miracle of the blossoming of these kittens (most especially the runt); it was the product of selfless love. The weak were taken in and made strong.

And no one could deny the friendships that grew within the community. When the kittens were quietly sleeping and out of sight, the conversations continued. People began to get to know each other. Even though posts were in many different languages, all converged around a single, unifying event.

Love begets love

Love is oftentimes depicted in the scriptures as beginning small and growing big. The mustard seed grows into the huge tree. The five loaves and two fish feed 5000 people. The small bits of leaven make the bread rise.

And love given spontaneously to a stray cat and her kittens grows into an international community.

God, who is Love, is continuously at work in the world using any and all situations to communicate with us. Like so many of the mundane, everyday occurrences of our lives, these events teach us how to love and care for each other.

We just need the eyes to see.

Linked to stay in touch

So far, two Facebook pages have set up by the new owners:

Loki: https://www.facebook.com/SevenKittensLOKI

Cosmo: https://www.facebook.com/cosmo.swishermullins

Seven Kittens has a page too: https://www.facebook.com/TheSevenKittens

And you can watch highlights from the Ustream site: http://www.ustream.tv/sevenkittens

Click to Tweet & Share: What can seven kittens teach us about love, light and each other? Plenty! http://wp.me/p2D9hg-55