Adoption is nothing new to our family. Our youngest daughter is Cambodian by birth and American through adoption.
We adopted again four weeks ago. This time a ten-month-old rescue kitten. Our former cat passed away last August. I thought she’d be our last. But my longing for another feline grew, and my loving husband granted my wish.
Our kitten joined our family as Risa—a Spanish word for laughter. Our daughter hoped for a different name. We discussed several. One of her suggestions was to name our new kitten, Cat.
I wrote about Risa joining our family in June’s quarterly newsletter that goes out to my email subscribers. I asked, “What’s your favorite name for a cat? Any suggestions for ours?” I didn’t mention my daughter’s desire to name our kitty, Cat.
A friend sent me a text. “Paka (pah-kuh) is cat in Swahili. I like that.”
The family agreed, and we made our daughter happy. Our kitten is named Cat—just in a different language. Risa became Paka. I sometimes call her Pakapoo.
She’s sweet, crazy, funny, lovable, and mischievous. She tolerates our dog but will need more time to become friends. Paka loves to help me research at my computer, throw her catnip mouse into the air and catch it, and chase a laser light. She follows me around like a toddler. You know those times when you can’t use the bathroom alone? Yep! She’s there pawing the door.
Paka is now a member of our family, and she brings us much enjoyment. As followers of Christ, God is pleased to adopt us into His family too.
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure (Ephesians 1:5).
I’ve included a few pictures of my Paka. Did I mention she’s mischievous? Decide for yourself.
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