Marvelous Monday!

It's Marvelous Monday!  And on this beautiful Monday morning, I really do have a lot to be thankful for.  This morning, I am especially thankful for the power of encouragement.

I have been so touched by all of the encouraging notes and messages I have received as I have been going through this difficult time with my little cat Tiger.  Words cannot express how much it has meant to me that so many of you have taken time to express an encouraging word.

It has always been my desire to be an encouragement to those around me, but I have found it to be very enlightening to be on the receiving end.  Your words of encouragement have been like little gifts of hope - hope that things will work out okay, hope that we will get through this, and hope that we are doing the best we can in the situation.  The encouragement I have received from friends, family, and fellow-bloggers has been like a breath of fresh air to me!

Knowing that so many of you are going through much more difficult and trying times than I am right now, yet you took the time out of your own struggles in order to encourage me, is very humbling.  So on this Marvelous Monday, I want to say a BIG THANK-YOU to all of you for your encouragement.  I hope I can be an instrument of encouragement in your lives as well.

I'll leave you with this little video clip - it's only 3 seconds long and you'll have to turn up your sound to listen to it - but I think it will make you smile.  It's a little snippet of Tiger having a cuddle with me the other night.  As she was snuggling with me, she was purring her little heart out!  It made me wonder what the function of a cat's purr really is!  Perhaps with mother cats, it's to help calm her kittens, kind of like a lullaby, but since male cats purr too, it can't only be for that purpose.  I wonder if a cat's purr is a form of encouragement too - encouraging the one who is purring and encouraging the one who is listening.  There is nothing quite so peaceful is the sound of a cat's purr that creates such an atmosphere of serenity, security, and love.  I think my  little Tiger's purr is letting me know that she is very happy to be alive and is going to be just fine!