Wonderful

First off, my sincerest thanks to everyone for your kind words on the passing of our cats, Ivan & Pogo. I’m still having a hard time dealing with our loss but am at peace with our decision. Both boys were 14 years old and had a myriad of illnesses we had been dealing with for 2 years or so. I didn’t want to be the one to make the decision as to when their suffering would end, but I more importantly I DID want their suffering to end and to be by their side when it did. I didn’t know if I could go through with it, but I actually stayed in the room with them when the sedatives and then the final shots were given. It was the least I could offer them after their selfless acts of love and loyalty the past 14 years. Each night since 1995, when I fell asleep Pogo was curled up by my head and Ivan at my feet. Now I’m finding it difficult to fall asleep without Pogo’s purr box in my left ear, and my feet are unseasonably cold despite the fact we’re in full summer mode now. I sometimes see kitty ghosts in the spots where they used to hang out - - Ivan between the columns in our Great Room (swatting anything that dared walk by) and Pogo on his favorite spot on the couch, directly beneath a skylight. Anyway, I’m coping and getting through it best I can.

Our dogs, Bailey & Bandit, are trying to adjust as well. For different reasons than mine, of course. You see, they have this new found freedom which they’re not totally convinced is real. Although the dogs outweigh the cats by like TONS, the cats were the obvious rulers of the house what with their dagger claws and all. I lost count of the number of times I walked in to see a very humiliated dog with a murderous cat hanging off their muzzle, claws dug deep into a sensitive doggie nose. Bay & Bandit continue walking around like they expect to be attacked by a ninja cat at any moment, and Bailey can’t understand where the stash of cat food went to that she used to inhale when she thought we weren’t looking.

So, as I was in the room saying my final goodbye to my boys and they were saying goodbye to the pain they had been experiencing for far too long, I found myself wishing there were a way to release human pain and suffering. I’m not necessarily referring to illnesses we may face, but pain & suffering from poverty, despair, loneliness, heartache…you know, all the bad stuff…and yes illness. As these thoughts ran through my mind, I slowly closed and opened my eyes 3 times in front of each of my boys, grateful that they would soon receive peace. I read somewhere that this is a way to tell cats you love them and to my amazement each of them responded in kind. Then, as they took their last breath, I realized there IS a release for our suffering as well, we just need to take the steps to receive and accept it and the blessings that come with it.

What am I referring to? The Cross. The Cross where Christ’s blood was shed as a final covenant. The Cross that offers us grace and mercy and forgiveness. The Cross that symbolizes God’s unchanging love for us. In our human minds we may not always see the cross as an immediate release for all that ails us, for we have become a results driven society, and too often we want to see those results NOW. But more precious than receiving things NOW, is the fact that the Cross is God’s free gift to us if we are willing to accept it. The Cross is eternal. The Cross is….wonderful….and it's yours as much as it's mine so long as you believe.