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Friday, April 25, 2014

What is a Friend?

Every Friday Lisa Jo Baker invites us to join her for Five Minute Friday, a time to write, free, unfettered, and unedited for five minutes - 300 seconds. Today the prompt is "Friend."

Ready, set, write . . .

In the fall of 2007 I was entering a period of transition. I was letting go of a ministry I loved with my whole heart, to move forward into some unknowns. There would suddenly be time in my life and a hole in my life and heart that hadn't been there before. For some time I had considered getting a pet, but my life was too busy. I was away too much. It wouldn't be fair. But now, that would be different.

So I said a simple prayer asking God to bring along just the right kitty for me and a few days later one of the girls walked into youth group and announced that her cat had had kittens and her Mom was bringing them for us to see at the end of youth group.

There was one little black and white kitten . . . so very tiny he fit in the palm of my hand. I picked him up and nestled him just above my heart . . . and I fell in love.

I searched and searched for an appropriate name for him. I wanted it to be meaningful. Finally, I found just the name.
Dakota. "Friend" in the Native American language.

He has been a friend for the last 7 years even when other friendships failed. He was a gift from God. Two legged friends with skin on are awesome, but the value of those with four legs and fur should not be overlooked either.


Stop . . .


16 comments:

  1. I love this beautiful story. Pets are truly some of the best friends we can have.

    Keep up the wonderful writing!

    Amy

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    1. Thanks for stopping in Amy! Yes, pets give unconditional love. So thankful God thought to give us them . . . but not only them, people too!

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  2. sweet, sweet little companion ...

    ;-}

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    1. Ummm . . . not sure sweet is an adjective to describe Dakota - full of personality, fun, entertaining, independent, loveable . . . but really, he's more like pepper than sugar . . . however I am very thankful for my little companion and very thankful to have you stop by as well!!!!!!

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  3. Darlene,
    Dakota is adorable and you are right, he is a gift from God :)

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    1. Yes, I am thankful for my little buddy and definitely consider him a gift from God! Thanks for stopping by. Love your blog by the way!

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  4. This is so sweet. Of course, I'm slightly biased since I have three adorable felines I love and adore. Their names are Melvin, Arlen and Pip. Pets are more than just pets in our household. They're family and we love them just as much as our two-legged family members.

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    1. Love the names of your little furry feline friends. I didn't think I could love a pet the way I do Dakota, but he is very dear to me.

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  5. Aw! Cute story. I relate a 100% because I feel that way about a couple of the colony cats I rescued! I always tell the one named Tangerine that she is my friend :). She shows me her love in the cutest ways and follows me everywhere. It is sad but often true, that often the friends who are by our sides the most are of the animal variety! Especially in the busy of today.

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    1. When Dakota was a kitten he followed me everywhere (he still keeps an eye on me, but does give me more space now that he's an adult). I was tempted to call him Velcro for awhile when he was a itty-bitty-kitty. :-)

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  6. i enjoy cats...so much easier than DOGS!!!! glad that you have a low maintenance kitten to curl up next to

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    1. I like cats and dogs, but yes, I needed a low maintenance pet and Dakota is a perfect fit for me!

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  7. Dakota is awesome!!!! :-) I look forward to seeing him and you again soon!
    ALJ

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  8. Pets do become friends and special little beings that God gifts us with. Dakota is the perfect name! From a friend.

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    1. Thank you, friend, for stopping by. Pets are sweet but human friends are needed too!

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