Mercy in the Mustard Seed – Cats, Shed, and Serving Veterans

March 4, 2026 

Dear LotUSA Family and Friends,

Almost a year ago, in the spring, my 94-year-old mother, Mrs. Jerrie, known and loved throughout our Southside community, watched her three female cats give birth to more than twenty-one kittens. A nurse for over seventy years until macular degeneration took her sight, Mom has always had a heart for the helpless. For her sake, and for the sake of those little lives, I could not let those kittens be destroyed. I fostered all twenty-one until homes could be found or they could stand on their own.

Things did not go as planned. Shelters were overwhelmed. Calls went unanswered. So why share this story in President’s Corner & Notes, a place normally reserved for Lettermen of the USA and our work with veterans?

Because sometimes the small stories reveal the deeper reason for everything we do.

With our biggest event, the seventh One Yard at a Time Gala, now behind us, I have a quiet moment before we ramp up again. This seemed like the right time to explain the “why” behind saving those kittens, now down to eight, four females and four fixed orange tabby males.

It goes back to July 2019. To borrow Lewis Grizzard’s words, they ripped my heart out and stomped that sucker flat. The old me did not come back from that surgery. What emerged afterward was something different, something softer, more aware of grace, and more determined to grow the mustard seed of faith.

Jesus once said that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows it becomes a tree, and the birds come and rest in its branches in Matthew 13:31 and 32. I have come to believe the Kingdom often begins with small acts that do not seem like much at the time.

Saving kittens probably qualifies.

Faith also changes how we see the vulnerable. Christ reminds us that unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 18:3. A child’s heart does not calculate worthiness, it simply responds when something needs help.

That childlike instinct is why I could not walk away from those cats. It is the same spirit behind Lettermen of the USA.

LotUSA gathers former lettermen, coaches, and even old rivals, Alabama, Auburn, Samford, UAB, Ole Miss, UGA, Jacksonville and others, to serve those who once served us, honorably discharged veterans, wounded warriors, disaster victims, and sometimes our own teammates. Through programs like Shelters for Heroes, Homes for Heroes, Laptops for Heroes, and Utilities for Heroes, we try to live out the compassion Christ described when He said that whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me in Matthew 25:40.

In other words, mercy in action, one yard at a time.

That spirit of resilience and compassion runs deep in my family.

In 1977 eminent domain took half the farm belonging to my Uncle James and Aunt Elizabeth so a new bridge could be built. Uncle James was a GI who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Aunt Elizabeth had been a Rosie the Riveter on the home front during World War II. The land they lost had been earned through hard work and sacrifice.

But they did not quit.

They sat on Mom and Dad’s porch with cups of coffee, talked things through, and rebuilt their lives on what remained.

Part of that rebuilding included a small white shed on our family property in the City of Southside, a town my family helped found in 1957. It is humble and weathered, but it carries a story of resilience. Our family roots stretch back nearly two centuries along the Coosa River in the southern Appalachian foothills, to the years surrounding the Trail of Tears in 1838, when Cherokee from nearby Turkeytown were forced west.

The land remembers hardship and endurance.

As of March 4, 2026 the shed has taken its first real step toward a new purpose. The new plywood floor is down and plans are underway to turn it into a safe haven for those eight remaining cats.

We are staging lumber and plywood for shelves, planning insulation to fight Alabama heat and humidity, installing a large side window so they can perch in the sun and look toward the pond. There will be heating, cooling, and ventilation, hardwood look linoleum floors that can be hosed down when litter scatters, and plenty of hammocks, toys, and climbing perches for enrichment.

Outside a fully enclosed courtyard with birdcage style fencing over concrete will allow fresh air without risk of escape. A border of soil and gravel will help deter ticks and fleas.

It will not be fancy.

But it will be safe.

In its own small way it reflects a truth that runs through Scripture. Whoever is faithful in little things will be faithful in great things, as written in Luke 16:10. Sometimes the Kingdom grows not through grand gestures but through quiet acts of care that ripple outward.

That is what this little shed represents.

It honors my mother’s caring heart. It gives eight animals a peaceful place to live out their days. It reminds me why LotUSA exists in the first place, to offer second chances wherever we can.

Through removals, settlements, eminent domain, surgery, and now this shed project, one thread ties it all together, resilience rooted in mercy.

The Coosa River keeps flowing past our land, steady and patient. Every time I watch it move I am reminded that second chances flow through life as well, second chances for land, for people, for animals, and especially for the veterans we serve.

If you are a cat lover, I hope this story warms you.

If you are not, I hope it helps you understand the heart and soul behind Lettermen of the USA. We believe in refusing to walk away when something, or someone, needs help. We believe small acts of mercy can grow into something larger than we ever imagined.

That is the mustard seed.

With God’s help we will keep planting it, one yard at a time.

If this story moves you to help, whether for veterans or simply for kindness in the world, reach out. The work continues.

July 9, 2025  “Baby Cheese → Fat Cheese. Those eyes still get me. Rescued, loved, and thriving. The shed will give all 8 the same forever feel. June vibes. #LotUSA #CatHaven”

March 4, 2026 – The little white shed stands as it has for decades: humble, weathered, and full of stories. This is the very building Uncle James and Aunt Elizabeth turned into a makeshift kitchen after the state took half their land through eminent domain in 1977. With hearts broken but never defeated, they picked up the pieces, reclaimed what remained, and kept working the soil. Today, that same resilient spirit lives on—we’re restoring this shed into a safe, sunlit haven for our 8 rescued cats. New plywood floor down, materials ready, vision clear. Second chances aren’t just for people; they’re for land, for animals, for all of us. One yard, one board, one act of mercy at a time. #LettermenOfTheUSA #CatHavenProject #ResilienceAndMercy

March 4, 2026 – Inside the little white shed: raw, weathered, and waiting. Cross-braces leaning, wiring exposed, walls scarred by time—this space has so much work left to do. But just like Uncle James and Aunt Elizabeth turned hardship into hope after 1977, we’re turning this into a warm, safe haven for our 8 cats. One nail, one coat of paint, one act of care at a time. The transformation begins here. #CatHavenProject #LettermenOfTheUSA #RebuildAndRestore”

March 4, 2026 – Before & After: The little white shed, once a makeshift kitchen where Uncle James and Aunt Elizabeth picked up the pieces after eminent domain took half their land in 1977. Left: raw, weathered, and waiting—braces leaning, floor scarred, walls tired.

Right: cleaned up, braced strong, insulated, and ready—dark hardwood-look linoleum down, light pouring in, space transformed.

This is where hope lives: turning hardship into home, one board at a time. Soon this will be a safe, sunlit haven for our 8 cats to live out their days. The same quiet mercy that rebuilt a family property now rebuilds a future for them—and reminds us why Lettermen of the USA keeps serving veterans, one yard at a time. Second chances aren’t just possible; they’re happening right here. #CatHavenProject #LettermenOfTheUSA #BeforeAndAfter #MustardSeedMercy”

March 6, 2026 – One layer closer. The first plywood floor is down in the little white shed, rafters re-fitted, and the space is starting to feel solid again.

This is the same building that became Uncle James and Aunt Elizabeth’s makeshift kitchen after eminent domain took half their land in 1977. They didn’t quit then, and we’re not quitting now.

Soon this weathered shell becomes a warm, safe haven for our 8 cats—dark hardwood-look linoleum, sun window, perches, and all. Every nail driven is a reminder: mercy rebuilds what was broken, one step at a time. Same spirit that fuels Lettermen of the USA. #CatHavenProject #LettermenOfTheUSA #RebuildAndRestore”

March 6, 2026 – Looking in: the little white shed is opening up.

First plywood layer down, rafters re-fitted and strengthened, roof framing exposed and ready for the next step. The pond glimmers through the window like a promise of peace to come.

This is the same space Uncle James and Aunt Elizabeth turned into a makeshift kitchen after eminent domain broke their land in 1977. They reclaimed, rebuilt, endured. Today we’re doing the same—transforming this weathered shell into a bright, safe haven for our 8 cats. Dark hardwood-look linoleum next, insulation, sun window, perches, and all.

Every adjustment, every board placed, is mercy in motion. Just like Lettermen of the USA serves veterans—one yard, one act of kindness at a time. The work continues. #CatHavenProject #LettermenOfTheUSA #RebuildAndRestore #MustardSeedMercy”

March 6, 2026 – Inside the shed today: new plywood base, rafters realigned, sky above.

This space that helped my family rebuild after hard times is becoming a haven for our 8 cats—and for me too. There’ll be a comfortable chair inside so I can sit, talk to them, pet them, just be with them.

Because love doesn’t stop at the door. It sits down and stays. #MustardSeedMercy #LettermenOfTheUSA”