Late last summer I went out to start the riding lawn mower. From the corner of my eye I saw something fly out the side of the mower. I turned off the mower and looked. There was Little Black. She had disappeared on us last spring and now here she was, hidden away in the bags of the mower! Then came another sound--muffled little "mews." I tried to identify what direction they were coming from, but couldn't tell. Then the story unfolded. I walked to the back of the rider and opened the lid. There in one of the tubs was a passel of little kittens. Eyes open and meowing for their Mom. I was stunned!!I moved the little kittens to the shelter we had for the cats in the back. Little Black was not use to being around us, so she backed off. After I left, she came back to the mower and began looking for her kittens. I went back around the house and picked up the sqwakiest one and took him to the front. When she heard him, she came running. She was very happy in her "home."
Little Black was a fantastic mama cat. She kept those little kittens in line. At night she would settle them all down and then go off for mice, even though there was cat food available. When they got up where they could fall out of their shelter, she would make a noise and they would all run back to her. She loved her kittens and we loved her.
One morning I went out to pick up the newspaper. There in the middle of the road was a black spot. I wondered what it was, then my heart stopped and I rushed over. It was Little Black. She was laid out and she looked like she was dead, but she was still warm. I carried her to the house and called Kathleen. We put her in the garage on some tarps. I left to get to an appointment and returned before noon. We found a pretty white box and I put a warm blanket in it. Then we set her in it. She was cooling down, but until the body is cold, we won't say she is dead. We knew she was. Finally she was stiff and cold. We went and buried her.
Kathleen, in the meantime, had brought all her kittens into the house. They were way too little to fend for themselves and too little to give away. They all could drink warmed up milk and a couple would eat canned cat food. The days were not cold yet, so the dogs didn't need to come in. They got the front entry.
My bedroom window faces the front of the house and drive that goes out to the road. I awoke the next morning and opened my eyes and I saw Little Black in the window. It was as though she was peaking through, but yet her head (and neck?) was completely visible, and I could see through her to the curtains behind her. Her head was the width of the window, but for some reason did not seem out of proportion. She was looking for something and I knew she was checking on her kittens. Then the next instant she was gone.
When I was a kid my cat died. I no longer remember how, but I do remember praying for her. I kept her in my prayers for ages. Now, I wonder if there is a place in the new world to come for our pets.
We know God loves His creation and made provisions for all to be taken care of when He created the world.
In Leviticus, God tells us we are not to eat animals that go on their paws:
The angels that are at the throne of God have the face of a lion, calf, man and eagle:Leviticus 11:27 And whatever goes on its paws, among all kinds of animals that
go on all fours, those are unclean to you.
Certainly, if animals are represented in heaven, in the spirit of an angel, it would give hope that our animals, themselves, would be in the new world.Revelation 4:6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in
the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures
full of eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a
lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had
a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8
The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around
and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “ Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”
God shows that He has respect for the mother and its young:
God provided for the animals:Exodus 23:19 The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the
house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s
milk.
In the last thousand years the animals will know peace:Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you
will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is
not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of
the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by
worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
And also:Isaiah 11:6 “ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young
goat, The calf and the young lion and the
fatling together; And a little child shall
lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall
graze; Their young ones shall lie down
together; And the lion shall eat straw like
the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by
the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall
put his hand in the viper’s den. 9 They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the LORD
All things are in the hand of God. He has promised us great and awesome things in the world to come, if we are His children. He is Just, Righteous and Merciful and He knows even the heart of one little black cat who loved her kittens. I will trust in His judgment.Isaiah 65: 24 “ It shall come to pass That before they call, I will
answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat
straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s
food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy
mountain,” Says the LORD.
The Lord kept us safe, as our tires crunch over the snowpacked graveled roads. Plows have long since pushed the hugh drifts, that once made these roads impassible, into the ditch. In the distance, huge bales, now covered in snow, loomed high above the fields, as a reminder of the summer past, when they had stood as tall stalks of grain basking in the heat of the sun.