Pumpkin

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

WITH THREE MONTHS TO GO before her high school graduation, eighteen-year-old Hannah couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her school—along with every other one in the district, and most across the country—was closing for in-person learning for the rest of the academic year. The COVID virus that initially didn’t impact her world now affected her a great deal. It wasn’t just her day-to-day school schedule that was affected, either. She had just learned that two family members were sick, her best friend’s grandfather was currently in the hospital, and people she loved were beginning to argue—about social distancing, politics, culture issues, and pretty much everything.

“Mom, what will this mean for graduation?” Hannah asked with concern.

“I don’t know, sweetheart.”

It seemed every question Hannah asked these days had an “I don’t know” answer. Hannah missed the days of certainty and routine.

At first, pivoting to online learning had been fun. Hannah enjoyed sleeping in, attending school in her pajamas, and picking a new virtual background for her Zoom sessions each day. But after a few weeks, Hannah found it was getting harder and harder to stay focused on her schoolwork. Her attention span started slipping, which negatively affected her grades. And she missed hanging out with her friends.

As the school year progressed, everyone started turning their cameras off or angling them upward. Hannah understood. She did it too—it was weird letting all your classmates see your bedroom.

Two months passed, and Hannah faced the fact that she would not get to attend her prom. And instead of a big graduation ceremony, she would receive her diploma through the car window in a drive-through version of the event. She wondered if she would get a side of fries with her hard-earned certificate.

The big family trip they had been planning to celebrate her milestone was canceled. And while she had been ecstatic to move into her college dorm three months after graduation, now her hopes for a normal college experience were dashed. After only two weeks, the students had to return home, and classes were moved online for the rest of the semester.

Isolation, disappointment, and fear wrapped tightly around Hannah’s heart, making it harder and harder to get out of bed each morning.

A few weeks into this strange and lonely reality, Hannah’s mom received a text from a friend who had found a flea-infested kitten wandering alone on a street. The friend had rescued the kitten, but she was highly allergic to cats and desperate to find someone to take the orphan.

“All the rescue places and shelters are full,” Hannah overheard her mom tell her dad, followed by “So I said we could keep her for a little while—just until a permanent home can be found.”

The moment Hannah looked at the little fluff ball, she felt the vice around her heart begin to loosen. Without being asked, Hannah took full responsibility for the kitten—whom she named Pumpkin and easily convinced her parents to let her keep. She fed Pumpkin, cleaned her litter box, played with her, and video chatted with her friends to let them see the adorable little kitten. Day after day as Hannah cared for Pumpkin, she felt the stress and disappointments of the past year begin to fade.

The following year, Hannah was able to return to campus. She was sad to leave Pumpkin but grateful her college was less than an hour away from home.

“I’ll be back soon to play with you,” Hannah told her fluffy bestie, giving her one last snuggle. As Hannah set Pumpkin down, she looked up and saw her mom fighting back tears. She and her mom had gotten very close over the past year and a half, and Hannah knew her mom was struggling with letting her go.

Hannah hugged her mom for the fifth time in an hour. Then she scooped Pumpkin back up and placed her in her mom’s arms.

“Keep her close to you. She’s really good at helping you feel better.”

PAWS & PONDER . . .

Why do you think Hannah responded so positively to Pumpkin? What do you think makes animals so good at helping people through difficult seasons? Can you think of a time your pet helped you through a hard time? How might you reach out in love to someone today?

Paws & Pray

Lord, you are Love. Thank you for loving your children so much that you offered us salvation and the promise to be with you forever. In a world often consumed with hate, please help me to love as you love and to live as you live so that others might experience your love and find hope.