Last Meow

Over 15 years ago I received that phone call from my wife. Not the that phone call... she'd already given me that news 5 months earlier! Pregnant with our second child, my wife found twin Manx/Himalayan kittens that "had to have a home." Somehow, between the strategic planning of mother (grandmother) and adult daughter, our family wound up with a second cat (we'd already had "Bunkley" for over six years)!

Our first daughter had already named them both before I could even get home that day. Ours would be named "Tiger" and Nanny's cat would be named "Buddy." When I did arrive home, I had to admit the little guys were cute and being bred with nothing more than a mere "nub" for a tail made them rather unique. Though I never fully adored Tiger, I didn't mind him too much either.

Later, dogs would come and go through the mix of animals in our house... but Tiger was a standard feature who seemed built to last. Now, well over 15 years old, he'd recently begun to have trouble remembering what a cat box is for and after virtually destroying the blessed aroma of our master bedroom suite (not to mention the need to now replace carpet that is less than four years old)... it was time for him to go! Any volunteers? Nope... Dad gets the nod!

Therefore, last Friday was not an easy day. I checked online for the closest and most reasonably priced facility to help with our "problem." I've done this routine before (Bunkley's departure was quite emotional for us, too), so it was nothing new to me. But it is never easy to "determine" the final day of a pet's life. Whether chronically ill or just too old to function properly, it is hard to hear the "last meow."

Since that day last Friday, I've been thinking much about what it must be like for God to watch the "clock" of our lives tick down to that last second. A friend just lost her step dad yesterday. He fought aggressive cancer for 8 months and passed from this life yesterday at noon. October 20, 2008 was his last day in this place. God knew it all along. The man's family painfully saw it coming and began adjusting to that last breath the moment it was breathed, but still it is understandably difficult for them.

I wonder if it is as difficult for God to watch that life clock tick down for someone as it is for us? "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:16). Even as I write this blog, "Chole" the stray Bichie-Poo (Bichon Poodle mix) we found running behind a friends house a few months ago is laying asleep on my lap, content beyond all apparent measure. We do love our pets, don't we?

God loves His children, too. But when we advance beyond this life to one which is better by far (Phil 1:23) surely it is better for all of us. Perhaps it is even for God! Maybe that remedies some of the pain that is left behind in this place and for those of us who have to wait a while longer. I simply don't know...

Our house is still recovering from Tiger's misfortune (both aromatically and emotionally). It was weird to decide "today" was the day and that reality still lingers in my mind -- we had to choose what day that would be. It makes me appreciate the Creator all the more... He is amazing and His wisdom to know the "whens and wheres" of our existence is something for which I must bow and give praise.