TGIF
Miss Kitty saved her most important “sermon” till the end.
The relationship between a pet and a person is like every human relationship…it’s based on love and trust.
Great, life giving relationships are built on both and both must be proven over time.
Miss Kitty had always given me amazing amounts of both and both were on display as she took up temporary residence in heaven.
The greatest love of all is one that trusts and endures to the end.
She has trusted me over the years to feed her and provide her a comfortable place to live.
She trusted me when we went to veterinary appointments, though she over came many fears to do so.
She trusted me when the fires came that I would not leave her alone to fate.
She trusted me to know when to let her suffering end and to release her to the One I trusted.
Missy was weak and tired by the time we were sitting in the veterinary office…kidney failure and a fading heart had taken their toll.
She lay purring on my lap as our vet came back with the diagnosis…and the terrible prognosis.
I could prolong her life by a few days…maybe.
She would have to stay in the clinic for three days receiving fluids, but the doctor was unsure that she would survive the separation from me.
She should not die without me…we needed to to be together.
I began to weep…then my angel looked up at me and gave me one last head bump, one last nuzzle…then wrapped her paws around my hand and buried her face in my chest.
My vet began to cry and the tech had to leave the room.
Miss Kitty trusted me with life itself.
She quietly and peacefully waited as the injections came, looked up at me with love one last time, and was instantly received by our Redeemer.
I miss her more than any human I’ve ever known and my grief is relentless and frightening…but her legacy will heal me in the end.
So much is uncertain in my life right now and sometimes the uncertainty leads to fear.
Sometimes, I wonder if I can trust God.
I have often doubted His love.
Miss Kitty in her final moments… answered these fears.
“Trust Him like I have trusted you”, she said to my spirit.
“He loves you like you have loved me.”
“You can trust Him with your life as I have trusted you with mine.”
Miss Kitty saved the best for last…she endured to the end in love.
She finished well.
Because of her example, I might too.
Make your own application…
I’m in tears reading this. I’m so sorry for your loss. She sounds like a wonderful cat and friend.
Gabby,
Thank you…she is irreplaceable…
Good, good sermon – thank you, Miss Kitty….
I recall when our last German Shepherd had to be put down. I asked my son to take him to the vet. Today, my son says it was the hardest thing he ever had to do.. .
For months afterward i reflexively stepped over the place on the kitchen floor where that dog had always lain as i worked..
So many memories… treasure them, Michael
I’m so glad that the two of you had each other for so many years. You gave her a good home and she gave you so much back.
Thank you for sharing such an intimate moment with us, as your sweet lady passed on in your arms. My eyes are damp and my heart is enlarged with sympathy for you, our dear brother in Christ. Peace, my friend.
Thanks, EricL.
The old Puritan ministers believed that their primary job was to teach people how to die.
I learned from a cat…
Em,
It will be a major adjustment around here…I’ve learned that I can’t sleep without a cat on my head…
I wrote this many years ago…
“Love, at some point, will require payment the lover can’t afford.
True love requires sacrifice.
True love pays.
Only the lover willing to pay the price is worthy to be loved.”
When Mimbsy died and I was at the shelter b/c I could not afford a vet at the time, another moral, human, economic, spiritual failure on my part. I will admit, to my eternal shame, I wept for thirty seconds, which is a decade to long. I found comfort in the words of people and in a song. I found no comfort in the evangelical religion, none. I berated myself with no mercy at all about how I murdered this cat and basically failed my mother b/c I lacked the economic (which is the only true measurement of worth), to let her die at home. I will never forgive myself for that. Others told me I was a great son b/c I was always there for her. I could not hear that at the time, I still cant. A gift from my evangelical past.
Now I am able to feel again. I can weep again, I can see hope again. When that closing happened the other day and much of what my family went through was validated by other sources including letters, other folks remembering the same etc. It shows me I was /am not a weak POS human but a child of God by His grace. I dont deserve that honor but that’s the point we cant deserve that honor. Better yet we do deserve b/c of Who He is.
“For God so loved the world that He gave Is ONLY begotten Son…… .” Our Triune God is worthy, eh. .. ?
Thank you for being so transparent with your feelings Michael💕 and sharing such a beautiful relationship and feelings on both sides.
Life is tough and some of us bury deep our feeling, hurts, dreams… and loose the meaning of life and friendships.
I’m so sorry for your loss and your pain.
Thank you for writing and sharing your life. It’s helped me to be a better human being.
Elena @2:25
True and worth thinking on….
Elena….thank you, my friend.
You have always been good and kind despie your own pain…
Thank you, Ruth…
I’ve spent all day thinking this was Friday…
You can not know how many tears I have shed for my lost pets…yet I found more tears for you and Miss Kitty…the 2 of you made me a better prayer, a better believer…I am certain that she will be forever by your side and in your spirit…God bless you both
Michael, thank you so much for sharing your feelings about Miss Kitty. i had Chiquita almost 18 of her 19 years. Just about this time last year, she let me know that it was time for her to go. Chiquita was a feisty creature, mistreated the first year of her life, and never amenable to doing anything she didn’t want to do. She had an orange caution sticker on her folder at the vet and she was proud of it! Twice over the years I went to urgent care because she got upset about something and went for my ankle first. But, over the years, she finally settled down and became the never-ending purring machine, happily sitting on my lap all evening, and never missing in her spot on my bed. After she was gone, I didn’t think I could “do” another cat right away, yet I looked at shelter pictures and loved them all. A friend let me know about a foster that needed immediate placement, and Ally came to live three weeks under the spare room bed, and then three months in the spare bathroom. I graded papers in the bathroom, read out loud to her in the bathroom, started to pet her very gently with a feather wand in the bathroom, and now she is the Queen of Pets and Laps and All Things Soft and Plush. She is not as feisty as Chiquita, but still bossy and lets me know when the Valet is not providing good hotel service. You’ll never replace Miss Kitty, but hope that, when it’s time, another special kitty will show up at your door, as Ally did at mine.
Micjael @ 5:09….
You need my clock which shows the day of the week… LOL
Okay, i CAN spell Michael…. M I C H A E L ! ! !
A love so deep. So very sorry. A severe mercy to let her leave her pain. God comfort you 🐈
Thank you, Paigemom, I know you get it…
Such a bond you two shared. Thank you for allowing us to look in on your lessons.
Michael, I am so sorry for your loss. I know how much you deeply loved your Miss Kitty. And honestly reading about her and her many lessons she taught here for so many years, I feel kind of like she was “our cat” too in a way. Praying for God’s comfort and peace and hope for you. Sending love and a hug.
Michael,
Not to diminish or minimize your loss, but I suspect another “cat pastor” will show up on your doorstep in due time.