Farewell to Larry

Today we started with our regular Sunday morning routine. Up, breakfast and coffee, getting showered and everyone dressed and ready for Sunday School and Church. We were out the door right on time....we turned onto the main road AND...... there was our sweet Larry (our cat) lying in the middle of the road. Cliff brought it to my attention and then turned the car around to check and make sure it was our cat. Sure enough, it was. Ella McCray started crying.  Cliff jumped out of the car and went to get her lifeless body and take her home to be buried after church.

This is not the first animal we've lost to God. We live out in the country and strays turn up here all the time. They also die here a lot...I think this is the 9th animal we've buried in our yard...not including our pet turkey (he wasn't lucky enough to be buried). Ella McCray cried to see Larry (who is a female cat-I know Larry isn't a beautiful girly name) one last time before she was buried. As a mother, my first thought was to protect her. I told my husband to go ahead and bury her and I'd deal with our grieving 4 year old. She was not happy when she found out she had been buried without her seeing her for a last time, but I could not bring myself to let her see what the cat looked like (tongue hanging out, bloody, and stiff)...I hope my children never have to deal with my death, or at least not while they are young. Sometimes I fear what might happen to them if my Lupus gets out of control. Today was a reminder that life is short. I know it was just our cat, but it makes you start to think about your own mortality and uncertainties. Today's lesson in Sunday school was about prioritizing your life. God should come first, then your spouse, then your family, then your work, then your ministries. Today I know I need to work on putting God at the top of my list. Today I am thankful for my God. He is great and He is forgiving.