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Good Sunday Mornin!

S

Shortgrass

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Eastern Colorado
Ecclesiastics 3 tells us that there is a time to be born and a time to die. The next several verses describe a wide variety of activity and emotion that we experience between those two events. There are happy times like the day that Jan and the girls came home from Lanny's with a blue merle Border Collie pup. She came to be hired help just to work, and not as a pet. Work she did—smartest dog I have ever had. I don't know what I taught her from what she just knew, but she caught on fast. She and I could move cattle pasture to pasture as well as three well mounted hands. She kept cattle bunched, and as soon as they could figure where we were headed, they lined out without trouble. She would watch a gate while I drove through with a feed unit, and I didn't have to worry about cattle getting out. I have had the neighbors tell me "that is some dog you have there." As many of you will understand there was a problem with the "not as a pet" part of it. I guess she wasn't my dog or anyone's dog; soon she was just part of the family. When we left the yard, she would sit on the porch and pout like a spoiled child. When we came back home she would run to the horse pasture and bark as if to announce to the horses "they're home" then run back to the vehicle to greet us all. She wagged her tail all the way to her nose. We use the word love to describe the feelings we have for family or our relationship with God. Maybe we shouldn't use it for a dog, but what word would you suggest I use to describe what I felt for this faithful helper and friend? The last thing I told her as tears blurred my eyes making my task even more difficult was "I love ya' old dog." The happy day was about 14 years ago. This day was hard. She couldn't get up one day this week, and hadn't eaten for a couple of days; she had cancer. I did what I had to do because I cared-- not because I didn't care. I would never have willfully harmed that dog. Oh, I gave her vaccinations that I'm sure she did not enjoy, but they kept her from ever having distemper or rabies. She trusted me. I had taught her to trust me. Even through those tear filled eyes I could see she trusted me to do what was best no matter how hard it would be. My rifle freed her from the cancer and arthritis that had restricted her more than any leash ever had. One of these days the Master that I have learned to trust, and the One that I serve will come and take my life. He will do that, not because he doesn't care but, because he does care for and love me. I will trust Him to do what he must do. That ol' leatherbound book of mine tells me that "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." I am confident that will be a precious day for me too. Maybe some of these hard experiences of life are to help us better understand Him. I'm sure that He does not take pleasure in all that He must do. The passage in Ecclesiastics 3:12 says that the best thing we can do is rejoice(have fun-- even if all events are not fun) and do good in all these events that compose our lives. My I've been long winded today! I'll shut up & go have some fun! Have yourselves a good Sunday mornin' & a fun rest of the week!
 
Thanks for the thoughts, Shortgrass. Sorry about your dog. Good ones are hard to come by.

This probably isn't the right place to tell this story, but here goes. When I was a kid, we had a family pet type of dog named Lassie. She was a Spitz, and always had her tail curled over the top of her back. I was about four when we got the dog, and when Lassie got to be about eleven or twelve, she started failing rapidly. Her hair was coming out in patches, and she had cancer of the nose. One morning after breakfast, Dad and I decided that we should go put poor old Lassie out of her misery. We tried to make our get-away as unnoticed as possible, but my younger sister caught sight of the .22 rifle we had with us. She queried, "Where are you guys going?" Always believing honesty to be the best policy, Dad came clean and responded, "We thought we'd better put poor old Lassie out of her misery."

My sister had never known a time when Lassie wasn't a part of our family. She is really is a tender-hearted nice sort of person, but tried to put up a tough front. Her reaction and comment was, "Do you care if I bring my BB gun and take a crack at her?" Despite the solemnity of the occasion, we kind of had to smile as we told her that probably wouldn't be necessary.
 
Shortgrass, you sure come up with some messages that hit close to home. I've felt the same pain as you when it comes to a pet. It's hard to believe that they can actually wiggle into your heart without you knowing it. Death of a pet is like losing a member of your family. Sorry to hear about your dog.
 
I think it every Sunday, but until now haven't taken the time to say it,
thanks. We go to mass every Sunday, but probably get every bit as much from your message.

efb
 
Shortgrass,
that is a very good one, your words are great. I in my life have had more friends of the equine and canine persuasion, than humans, some of which I needed to end their life to send them on their way to a better place, some I was glad to send them on to a new master, I grew up being taught that you should be able to end the suffering when need be or you were not justified in owning the animal. It takes a man/ a woman, of character to have to do that, and it can be the hardest thing to do but you know that it is the right thing. I have had to look down the sights with tears before. You brought them back again, thank you for the reminder.
 
Shortgrass, I've been there, done that. I read your post with tears, and I clearly see your faith in God is what made you finish your sermon the way you did, not feeling sorry for yourself for having to do what you did, that it is the cycle of life and you can go on.

Thank you so much for sharing. I think I'll start going back to church.

Hanta Yo posted this under MCG's name. Oooooops
 
montana cowgurl said:
Shortgrass, I've been there, done that. I read your post with tears, and I clearly see your faith in God is what made you finish your sermon the way you did, not feeling sorry for yourself for having to do what you did, that it is the cycle of life and you can go on.

Thank you so much for sharing. I think I'll start going back to church.
Click to expand...

That makes my day girl! You just do that. Just remember that I'd rather go to church with hypocrites than go to hell with them.
 

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