Children's Corner
Story for children: The Dumpster Kitten and the Hand of God
By Frank L. Hoffman
"This is a true story that happened early this morning, but it really began this past Friday. Every Tuesday and Friday I fly our plane to a regional medical centre assisting them in several projects. After I flew back home last Friday, I drove to my office to pick up some important work papers and put them into my briefcase, or at least I thought I did, for I don't remember seeing anything left on the table. Well, when I got home, I found that one of my folders was missing. This morning I got up at 4:00 so as to go to the office and pick up the missing folder before going to the airport.
It was still dark with just a faint glow showing in the sky when I got to the office. As I got out of my car, two feral kittens ran up to me. This is very unusual, so I started to talk to them, but they wouldn't let me get close enough for me to touch them. As I went to throw a bag of trash in the dumpster, they ran after me. I flipped the bag into the dumpster and the kittens started meowing. I continued to talk to them and to try to reach out to them, but they would run off a short distance, but as soon as I would begin to turn away, they would run ahead of me. Then one of the kittens ran past me and jumped up on the rim of the dumpster. It was then that I heard a scratching noise coming from inside the dumpster. I walked over and looked in, as the kitten on the rim jumped off. I couldn't see anything at first. Then some movement caught my eye. A little black kitten in the darkness of the dumpster was jumping up the side and trying to climb out, but every time he or she slipped back down into the bottom.
The dumpster was too deep for me to reach into the bottom, so I found a piece of wood about six foot long and put it into the dumpster, leaning it against the side to make a ramp. The little kitten inside climbed up the ramp and jumping away from me to the ground, ran away. When I turned around, I saw the other two kittens running off after the little black one. So, I turned and went into the building, picked up my folder and left the office. As I left the office, there before me were four kittens waiting for me, I believe, to say thank you.
No one could ever convince me that these kittens weren't thinking and planning what to do to save their sibling. The very way they acted is proof of the characteristics of what we call soul and spirit. If I hadn't helped that kitten out of the dumpster when I did, it could have been crushed or trapped under the morning trash.
I still can't believe that I didn't see the missing papers on Friday, for the table was empty when I got back there today except for what I had to pick up, and I believe it was completely empty when I left there Friday. Thus, I believe the Lord knew that I would be attentive to these kittens early today, and that I would have to be there way before the others arrived, and before the trash began to fill the dumpster. So, He arranged for me to be there.
The hand of God reaches out to touch us all, but I believe most people don't recognize His touch or call to service, even if it's only to rescue a little black kitten from a deep dark dumpster.
Let us pray that we all are more attentive to His touch. Amen."
Moral: Dear children, from this story we can see how God does indeed work in the smallest of ways—taking time to ensure the safety of even the smallest of kittens. Like the author of this story suggests, we can and should try to see Him in even the smallest of situations. The best way to do this is to chant* and pray to Him on a daily basis, asking Him to help us see Him in every person, thing and situation.
Spiritual experience of a child seeker
Removal of obstacles in seva caused by son
My elder brother was diagnosed with cancer one year. It was a very difficult period for my family. Sometimes at night, I would chant a lot before going to sleep. Whenever I did that, the very next day my parents would tell me that my brother was feeling better. I strongly believe that chanting the Lord's Name helped me go through the difficult period and helped my brother get better.
– Master Vinay Ingle (age: 11 years),
New Jersey, USA.
[Dear Readers, by chanting the Lord’s Name less desirable flaws get removed, such as fear, nervousness, etc. and we imbibe divine qualities like tolerance, patience. More importantly, we also develop faith in The Lord.
-Editor.]
* Chanting means constantly remembering or repeating God’s Name according to our religion. Young children should also chant 'Om Gan Ganapataye namaha' (Lord Ganesh's chant) for at least 15-30 minutes daily for divine protection. Older children, who have been doing spiritual practice for some time, can determine their exact chant from the experiment in Issue 124, Message to Seekers section. Parents should repeat (chant) The Lord's Name for children too young to do so themselves.