Today, I think I’ll talk about trust.

Trust… it’s a word we all know. Every day, we’re told to trust, sometimes in words and sometimes in actions. We’re supposed to trust our friends, our families, our government, and so on. But more often than not, we find that the trust we extend needs to be tempered with caution.

And then there’s the blind trust – or blind faith, if you prefer – that we must present every single day. Think about it: we put our money into our bank account and we trust the bank to not only keep our money safe, but to make sure that when we spend it digitally, it all comes out like it’s supposed to. We trust them to make sure their calculations are accurate. We take their word for it.

We trust our employers to take the right amount of taxes out of our checks, believing they will based on the paperwork we fill out. (So much paperwork!) We trust our doctors to have our best interests in mind, we trust our stores to sell us safe, fresh products… the list goes on and on.

We blindly trust that other people will do the right thing. We trust them to stop at red lights, not run over us when we’re in the crosswalks, to not scratch our cars or steal our packages. We trust the woman ringing us up in line that she won’t slide one of our items out of sight and keep it and the guy behind us that he won’t be slipping our wallet out of our pocket. We trust teachers to do right by our kids, letting them take over for us for hours out of a day.

Sometimes, that trust is rewarded or just there. Other times, it’s not.

But have you ever stopped to think just how much trust is extended by any living creature when it desperately needs help?

Think of the child who was betrayed yet still hopes someone cares. The woman who needs desperate help and tries just one more time to find it. The man who served our country and now lives on the streets, desperate and ready to reach out just one more time if someone will but extend a hand.

I rescue animals. It’s something my family has done for as long as we can remember. Right now, I have what I affectionately call a ‘horde’ and I love each of them dearly. Mostly, it’s cats. Nine cats always in the house, two more who go in and out, and anywhere from one to seven semi-ferals and ferals who come by to eat at dinner time. They’re my ‘outsiders’ and most have gone from utter terror at the sight of a person to allowing me to tend to wounds, offer pets, or at least sit and chat with them.

There’s Lil’bit, who was found starving and who in a few days time would have been at the brink of no return, who now even allows my husband to hold him and who allows me to tend any hurt.

There’s Punkin, who comes and chatters but won’t allow touch. Fella – yes, unfortunate name, but now he answers – who will give a kiss by pressing his nose against the back of my hand in thanks for his dinner but allows no other contact. Neo – who never goes far but isn’t fond of being touched. Maggie – who was starving and pregnant, who was found a home but then allowed to get pregnant again despite their promises, and who simply came back to me.

There’s Ted and Muffy, both quite old and both special needs. There’s Wookie, with a metabolic issue. There’s Oreo, who licks everything.

And so on. Some are quite old. Some have health issues or trauma. Some could potentially be moved with a rescue group (though that stopped with the pandemic) and others could never be adopted out. All are dearly loved and all dearly love the humans who try their best to look after them.

On top of that, we have two older dogs – one around eight or nine, rescued by someone else from what was most likely a puppy mill, who we rehabilitated into a dog, not a terrified shadow of one. And one who is over twenty and wants nothing more than regular hugs.

All in all, I’ve placed around 40 cats with the rescue group since I moved to this place in 2018. There’s a junk yard down another road where it seems there’s a feral colony, abandoned buildings, and more than a handful of folks who do not spay or neuter. I TNR those I can, educate those who will listen, and never let anyone leave hungry.

So of course, we end up with deer in the yard, rabbits, birds and squirrels, the occasional groundhog and turtle, and raccoons and opossums.

But I was talking about trust and the blind trust the truly desperate reach out with one. last. time.

This is Anna. She is a little feral who I managed to turn into a semi-feral, but who wanted nothing to do with a person beyond her next meal. I got up early one morning because one of the dogs was going rather bonkers. Not being mean or upset, but determined that I go with her to the door. Where Anna and four newborn babies waited on my doormat.

Now, this cat wanted nothing to do with people! But she needed help. She was a first time mama, she’d seen others with babies and who had lost their babies, and she knew who she could potentially trust to help her.

I carefully moved her and her little ones into a carrier and called the rescue. No one was available to help. I had too many to bring a semi-feral into my house in an isolation cage and no spare room for her to go into. So I called my mom, who agreed to take her in and placed her and the little ones into the spare room.

I call my mom a ‘cat whisperer’ and she proved it. Anna settled down. We ended up with four beautiful babies and one happy mama, all of them tame and sweet. Each one found a forever home – Anna and her little girl Pixie went together even!

Ever try to get pictures of healthy, happy, bouncy kittens with a cell phone? Yeah, sorry for the blur!

It is heartbreaking when they go to their forever homes. But this is five more lives saved. Five more little beings who had a chance they most likely never would have gotten. Now, they bring joy to the people who took them in as a new family member. So our efforts rippled out to bring happiness not only to these furbabies but to the humans who now love them. And maybe, the ripples will continue, and those people will now rescue as well.

I like to think that this is what the Creator – whatever your name for that – had in mind when we were put here. For us to look after creation, help when we can, and be that little light in the dark for human or animal in whatever way we can be.

Now, go be the light in the dark.

~ Crystal C.