Many of us are pet lovers. Robin has Pinky and Poppet; Cathy has dogs and Tammy has Jack; Tracie has three cats and a new canine friend; Judy loves a puppy named Zoey. Right now I have four cats, and they are important members of our family. But even though I love the current furry friends who share my home, I still miss some of those who aren't here anymore. The two I miss the most are Meinie and Isabella.
They were born on the same day--August 22, 1992. Meinie was one of four puppies in a litter born to our Dachshund, Ginger; Isabella, affectionately called Izzy-B, was born to a farm kitty. We brought Izzy-B home when she was six weeks old, and she and Meinie became instant friends. I can't tell you how many times I returned from school to find the two of them curled together on the living room floor in a shaft of sunshine. Izzy-B bathed Meinie, and Meinie followed Isabella around like a little shadow. As devoted as they were to each other, they were also devoted to me. I was their human, and I treasured the honor. When Meinie died of a stroke in January of 2008, Izzy-B refused to leave Meinie's crate for days. I feared she'd mourn herself to death. When she finally recovered from losing her friend, she became my constant companion.
Isabella died that same year, and oh how missed those dear pets. Then someone who knew of my loss sent me a little writing called "The Rainbow Bridge." Maybe you've seen it. (You can read it here, if you haven't.) I loved the idea--Meinie and Isabella once again sharing a spot of sunshine...and watching for me.
The love of these animals toward each other and toward me have always been a beautiful symbol of how God loves us. Unconditionally. With eagerness to meet our needs. Never-ending.
There are those who believe animals are in Heaven. I like to think so. After all, they're God's workmanship, too. If He took the time to create these creatures who add so much to our lives, why shouldn't they continue to bless us on the other side?
Today I'm lovin' on Sam, Maizie, Frances, and Clyde. But I still look forward to the day when I'll get to scratch Meinie's ears and rub Izzy-B's chin again.
May God bless you muchly as you journey with Him! ~Kim
16 comments:
Sniffle. I always get teary eyed when I read The Rainbow Bridge. I have my share of fur-buddies waiting on me too.
Love Meinie and Izzy-B's story. There's something to be said for the example of an animal's devotion, isn't there? Talk about unconditional love! I've always wanted to have a cat and dog together but I guess you have to start them off young. My Simba thinks cats are a toy to chase. Yeehaww! So no kitty in my house. :-(
Kav, I think you're right about the cat/dog combo. We've never introduced an adult dog to our cats--only puppies--and it has helped. Don't pets add such spice to live? Can't imagine not having four-legged furry "babies" in the house. :o)
Kim! The strangest thing happened to me tonight. I was watching Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in "You've Got Mail," and for some inexplicable reason,my thoughts strayed to our various family pets that we had over the years...From cats to dogs to rabbits, to say nothing of the guinea pigs and goldfish! We had them all and they were sadly missed when they left us.
My parents beautiful black cat, Sam, used to sit almost on top of my Dad, particularly when he was at his desk working, or sitting in his armchair reading, vying for his attention,of which she was given plenty, from both Mum and Dad! Mum spoilt her to bits, eggs in milk etc. and her coat just gleamed!
When Sam died, Mum found her lying by Dad's Bible and her head resting on his Palm Cross, which she had obviously knocked off Dad's desk. After my Dad passed away, Sam used to keep an eye and ear open for Mum. One particular night,she came into Mum's room miaowing for all she was worth,stood by the bed and kept on until Mum was forced to get out of bed. She followed Sam out to the family room and found she had forgotten to turn off the heater before she went to bed. I know this sounds crazy, but sometime before my Dad died, he told Sam that she had to "look after" Mum, when he was gone. Well, she truly did that! The heater had been partly resting on the cord and it had begun to melt.We can guess what would have happened if Sam had not alerted Mum. She truly was a "spiritual" cat,in all sense of the word!
Someone once said to me, that animals don't have souls. I find that very hard to believe,as I am sure our animals did!
My cat was Topsy,a very majestic ginger female, who used to think she owned the entire house! Our children called her "Queen" and she knew it! LOL. She "ruled" for twenty years and we missed her so much. I remember saying to you once, that it was a pity she had not met Clyde on facebook,as by then she had gone to "Kitty Heaven".:)
I read "The Rainbow Bridge" and I thought it was so beautiful. I am printing that out for my little grandsons to read, as they are still getting over the loss of their beloved dog Zac.
Lucy, a little Maltese x Shih Tzu has come to live with them now,and they love her dearly, but do you know, they still kiss Zac (Declan's toy Blue Heeler) each night before they go to bed.They loved him so much.
I apologise for my lengthy comment, but to find your post,so in tune with my thoughts tonight, made it really special for me.
Thank you so much Kim, a truly beautiful posting.:)
Rosie, I'm so glad our thoughts were in alignment. I think that happens when the Spirit prompts. :o) Far apart in miles, yet close in heart--I like that. Blessings!
I loved the Rainbow Bridge. We had Sunny 15 years, she was a beautiful American Eskimo Spitz. Sunny never knew a stranger, she loved everyone as we loved her, and miss her. We also had a cat that Rick rescued as a kitty for 18 years. We never did give her a proper name though. She had 5 of the most beautiful litters ever. Long hair Siamese mix, or long hair Calicos, all different kinds. We gave away lots of kitties before giving her a rest for the rest of her life. We (Rick especially) miss her a lot. Now we have Daisy and Duke. They are here with us, they both love us both, but Daisy, she is there beside me when I'm ill or recuperating from a surgery, even sleeps right beside me. Thank you for sharing today, and for sharing The Rainbow Bridge
Scottie...Our beloved mini schnauzer mix. We had him for 16 years. My son was about 8 years old when he brought him home from a neighbor whose mini schnauzer had pups. "Mom can we keep him?, "I'll take care of him myself." You know who ended up doing all the work right? ;-) My son wanted to call him "Wolf" but we ended up calling him Scottie after my childhood pet.
What a sweetie he was...I still miss him. It has taken me about 18 years after losing Scottie to get up the courage to get another pup. I looked for another Scottie, but I don't see him in this new pup at all. That's because there was only one Scottie...
If dogs are in heaven, I'm sure Scottie is there. Until I see him again I will enjoy Bruno, my fiesty, ornery but sweet chihuahua ;-)
Have a great day Kim, thanks for stirring us to remember how God has blessed us with such loyal and unconditional loving pets.
Cherie and Veronica, thanks for stopping by and sharing your precious pets with me. Our hearts are expanded and made more compassionate, I think, when we allow ourselves to be loved unconditionally by a furry creature. I definitely see pets as one of God's gifts to us. Enjoy your little doggies!
Oh, how sweet. Sniff. Sniff. I have a long, long list of pets waiting for me. And it was so funny to find you blogging about pets when I popped over here, because I allowed Poppet to blog for me this morning on Write Thinking. (You won't be surprised to find she blogged, a bit "snarkily," about Pinky. http://is.gd/lKaIzp
LOL Robin, on Poppet's snark. Clyde can get snarky on occasion concerning Maizie. Since he and Maizie have mostly claimed me, and Sam and Frances have claimed The Hubs, he can be a bit jealous when Maizie snags the lap and thus my attention. Having two vying for your undivided love certainly creates humor...and the now-and-then mayhem! :o)
Oh Kim.....this post is such a sweet reminder of how important our pets are to us. I wasn't familiar with The Rainbow Bridge until my beloved Morris passed away (from cancer) a few months ago. A dear friend sent me a copy, and I read it and sobbed....but oh how sweet! ~ Thank you for sharing about your precious pets (past and present). They truly are part of our families! ~ Hugs, Patti Jo
Patti Jo, I suspect between the two of us, there will be a whole herd of cats laying in wait to meet up with us again. :o)
Kim, there'll be a herd for me too. My first pet was Gretchen, a long haired calico that I forced into baby doll clothes and pushed around in a baby carriage. She would put up with it for long periods of time, then let me know she was done by scratching my arm. Oh, I loved that cat (and the litters of kittens she produced).
And when we lived out in the country with horses, we had about a dozen cats and kittens keeping down the mice population in the barn.
I'm with you, Robin! I've never in my 51 years of life been without a cat for a pet. The first one I really remember loving was Cindy, a tortoiseshell who blessed us with a litter of kittens every season. We left her behind in Minnesota when we moved, and my 8-year-old heart was broken. Then I brought home a stray we named Mittens, and from there I had Toby, and Sam, and Fuzz-Bomb (yes, Fuzz-Bomb LOL), Mischief, Smokey I, Seymour, Smokey II, Smudge and Snigglefritz, Bear, and finally Isabella. I feel like I need to start singing that Willie Nelson song, "To All the Cats I've Loved Before." He did write a song with that title, didn't he? :o)
LOL Kim!
Think you mean "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" Well... Girls CAN be a bit "catty" can't they?...GROAN! ..But just a bit of trivia here. Did you know that the Canadian Song Writer,Alanis Morisette in 2010 recorded the version of "To All the Boys I've I've Loved Before!
Now ! That's a cert, to set the cat among the pigeons! LOL!
Well, Rosie, if someone has already modified Willie's song to fit their needs, why can't we change it for ours? I'm going to have to give this some thought.......
Actually, I find the idea a bit frightening myself. Not in the concept, but in the subtlety of this idea and how fast it catches on, even among Christians.
The Rainbow Bridge was originally from the Norse Mythology. The bridge that connected 'Midgard' (earth) and 'Asgard' (realm of the gods). Gods that, as believers, we know are false gods, and knowing what the Bible says about such things, they were not of God.
In more recent years, the idea of the 'Rainbow Bridge' being a place to send animals has taken off with shocking ferocity. Yet when you consider the origins of this tale, in essence, pets are being sent to a 'waiting' spot between the realm of earth and the realm of the 'gods'.
To my thinking, this can only be one of two places. Either they are being sent to the 'waiting' place that people used to go to before the time of Jesus where they waited to get into heaven (the story of the man who died and could look over into hell and was asked to bring a message to the living) - which was abolished when Jesus died for us so we either go straight to be with him, or go straight to hell. OR - they are being sent to a place in hell, because those pagan gods were NOT of the true God.
Frankly, I find both ideas a bit hard to take.
As Christians, do we really want to be sending our beloved pets to wait in some pagan gods, be it in a waiting place or in a part of hell? As Christians we will not be going there, so do we really want to be sending our pets to wait forever for us in a place we will NOT be going? The Bible says that when we go, we are absent from the body, and present with Him. There are no 'in between' stops to pick up pets that have been sent elsewhere.
As Believers, how much better is it to instead send our beloved pets to be wit Him? To ask Him to please take them in His arms, and to explain to them that you will be along shortly, and would He please put them somewhere near where He is going to put you so that you can have them when you get there? How much more comforting is it to put them directly into His hands, instead of some questionable place such as the 'Rainbow Bridge'.
At the very *least* the 'Rainbow Bridge' for pets is a made up place that someone made up because it 'sounded' nice, and it was a pleasant picture. At the worst. . .it is a deception meant to distract our eyes from the truth. As a Believer, do you really want to risk your loved animal to such a thing, when Jesus is so willing to gather them up and put them somewhere where you will be going? How much better is it to ask this of Him, and to know that He loves you so much He is willing to do that. And when you miss them so much it feels like your heart will crack, you can quietly say, "Jesus, please give them a pet for me and remind them that I love them still and will see them soon? And thank you for caring for them and me so much that I know they are safe with you."
Are there rainbows in heaven? Perhaps. Perhaps there is even a bridge made out of them. But would I want to send my loved critters to a nebulous place that may not be anything I even want to go near? No. I'd rather rest, knowing that Jesus loves me so much, He has taken the animal He gave to me and put it somewhere in HIS realm where I will, for sure, be going and can see them again.
Post a Comment