Beside the still waters

For the Scripture says: "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed".........Romans 10:11

Last night I stayed up most of the night to take care of a sick little cat. He has been coughing and hiding under the bed. I really thought that today he would be the day to take him in. I know many people, even Christians who make light of the sickness or death of a beloved pet. "It's not the same," they say, "as when a human dies." They make light of the grief.....

But one thing I know. Death feels like death, and grief feels like grief.......It's the same blackness, the same hell we escaped from....just barely.  It's the same tears spilling down.....it's comfort that is needed, and to do anything less is to ignore Holy Scripture.....for this is the truth of it:

"Now we who are strong ought to bare the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification." Romans 15:1, 2

And, also:

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

And you just don't know, there may be an ocean of events leading up to this one thing that brakes the back of the camel......

As I tossed and turned last night, all I could think of was all the other grief, from all the other times. Funerals, memorials, big ugly flower arrangements and holes in the dark cold earth. They all mean the same thing. The thing that should never have been. But the thing we must live with every day until Jesus comes again.

I thought again how very unnatural illness is, how foreign death was when the world was new. And how very wrong.

But on the opposite corner stands Jesus and He is our life......Thanks be to God!

I recited the 23rd Psalm as I waited for sleep to come. I thought of a little white cat lying down beside me in green pastures......I pictured us sitting on the shore, watching the quiet waters lap upon the shore.

I am happy to say, this morning Sydney is still with us. He sat on my lap for awhile this morning and ate and drank water. He is back under the bed but the coughing has subsided for now.

And with the morning came grace for awhile yet.