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Tuesday, May 17, 2005
alive!
Yesterday morning we had a really interesting experience. It actually started on Sunday night, when I realized that I hadn't seen our cat Mary all day, and neither (I found when I woke him up to ask him) had T. I went out in the dark in the rain and looked for her, as well as checking all her usual indoor haunts, and didn't find her. In the morning, T looked around as well, with the same results. I remembered that late on Saturday night, Mary had been acting a little strangely, and I concluded that she must have been ill, and that she had gone off somewhere to die. I broke the news gently to the kids mid-morning on Monday, which of course was not a lot of fun for anyone, and started cleaning the house, partly because it just needed it, and partly so that if she had not done the "going off" part of "gone off to die", we wouldn't be finding her mortal remains by smell in a few days. The kids were cleaning their rooms and I was working in the living room when C came dashing out shrieking with joy that she had seen Mary under her bed, and her eyes were open. For some reason I was still convinced that Mary was dead (after all, she hadn't responded when we'd called her; we hadn't even heard her collar bell jingle) and told C that she probably was, eyes open and all, so that C wouldn't have her hopes up.
But of course when we went and peered under C's bed, we saw that Mary wasn't dead. She was a little sick, we think, and she'd huddled under that bed for who knows how long, but after another day of lying around the house not eating or drinking or playing, she woke up today so much improved that I cancelled her appointment at the vet, and she is pretty much as chipper as ever tonight. I just walked past her, lying on the end of C's bed, and I got thinking about the resurrection. I thought of the way C jumped up and down after we'd pulled the living breathing Mary out from under her bed: "I'm the hero of finding Mary!!" I remember how we all felt kind of slap-happy for half an hour or so afterward, and how relieved T was when I called him to tell him the news, and how surreal the whole thing seemed later. Mary is "just a cat", but yet, the account of the Resurrection in Scripture is similar: doleful, sad, let-down followers of Jesus, still loving him, hearts broken, a bit scattered, trying to move on. Then comes the news: He is risen, just as he said! How fantastic, what a surprise, He's not dead after all! What a pivotal moment, from grief to joy with head-spinning rapidity.
I am guilty, as are most Christians at one time or another, of going through my daily existence knowing full well that Jesus was dead and that he rose again -- completely aware of how boggling and joyful a truth that is and how it has changed my life and my eternal destiny -- and not being excited about it in the slightest. It's distant from me, it's old news, it doesn't have a lot to do with all the stuff I have to do day in and day out. I need to remember that excitement, to catch fire with it like I have done a few times in my spiritual life, but not nearly often (or steadily) enough. The Lord is risen! And because he rose again, I too can walk in newness of life. I'm asking God to help me to LIVE like that's as amazing and exciting as it really truly is.
Comments
I was just talking to my mom today about how people refuse to accept the validity of animals. A lot of people just use them for protection or for keeping pests away. Anyone who's actually had an animal, as a member of the family and spent time actually getting to know the animal...With an open mind would find that they are just as interesting and valid as people. I have no problem when I hear about the grief someone has over a loss of an animal. I've had plenty in my life and understand what that feels like. What makes it harder is when you've had the animal for upwards of ten years or so...
Posted by: jenn at May 17, 2005 11:38 PM
Thank you for that beautiful reminder about celebrating the best gift any of us can receive!
Posted by: Carolyn at May 18, 2005 05:03 AM
Sounds like a great way to teach your kids about the importance of the Resurrection to you - a way they can understand emotionally insted of just intellectually.
Posted by: dichroic at May 18, 2005 09:44 AM
((HUG)) Awesome! Amen!!
Posted by: Kristen at May 18, 2005 12:49 PM
