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Politics : Should God be replaced? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (8596)	12/9/2001 7:23:26 AM
From: Frederick Smart	Respond to of 28931

Animals Are Part of God.... >>I am very fond of animals. Of course I am my favorite animal. Animals are quite magical enough for me. And they have the added plus of appearing to actually exist.>> They are His creation. I love animals, too. And they are SO connected to the universal energy all around us. They are "pure" receivers - given ALL what they know and who they are directly from our Lord. We have an aging/dying female Tabby cat named IDA. It's a long, long story, but she's really had nine lives. She's lost 20% of her body weight in the last month and her temp is subnormal. She stopped eating right after our third son, Andrew, was baptized on November 24, a Saturday. This hit us like a ton of bricks just early yesterday morning for in the middle of the night my wife and I were awake while Andrew was nursing talking about IDA. For she hasn't slept with me for the past week. IDA always sleeps right by my head or under the covers, etc. And for the past week or so she's been sleeping in the bassinette with Andrew which is right by our bed for convenience. So then we recalled how Frederick our first son had made a remark recently about IDA falling down. And then I have noticed how she's been sleeping more and more. And then I remarked how she appears to be thinner, etc. Then my wife asked me if I had filled up her dish to which I said "no" and then it hit us. She thought I had been filling up IDA's dish and I thought the same about her. Then when the boys got up we asked them and they said no. IDA stopped eating sometime in the past week or so. Another thing struck my wife between the eyes for she had already made an appt. with our vet for IDA to be routinely checked out, etc. And the ONLY date they had open was December 13th which is the day her father died in 1977, the day my beautiful grandmother died in 1996 and the day many other strange and good things have happened to her from births to whatever. So it was a tearful morning yesterday when my three sons, my wife and I took IDA to the vet on this accelerated special request. IDA has lived a long, long life. We got her 8 1/2 years ago when my wife was first pregnant. Actually she got IDA for me and this was after she had taken shots for her allergies for over 3 years. She knew how much I loved animals, especially cats and IDA was our first child. And IDA was the cat that lived in this local petstore just a few blocks from where we used to live in Evanston. She is really a beautiful, very fat and fluffy and perfectly marked Tabby with white booties and a white undercoating. On her furry chest, I kid you not, was the image of a brown & grey heart outlined against her white fur. But no sooner did we get IDA then we discovered she had a terrible case of ringworm. My pregnant wife contracted it and we had to ultimately have all of IDA's fur cut off as she had to get these chemical bath administrations, etc. And everyday for 2+ months I had to give her these tablets by hand using oil, etc. Long and the short of it - that fall of 1993 was a nightmare for my IDA was very uncomfortable and this ugly-sickly looking cat who we loved so much wasn't doing all that well. Fast forward close to 8 years and IDA is in the sunset of her life. The doctor outlined our choices which were obvious. Tears welled up in Maribeth's eyes and our boys were very sad for how their mom was feeling, etc. As we walked out of the animal hospital something called me to look up on the wall at this framed picture of a giraffe which a long quote below itfrom Henry Beston's "The Outermost House" which is as follows: "We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature and living by complicated artiface, man in civilization surveys the creative through the glass of his knowledge, and sees a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err and greatly err. For the animal should not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are no breatheren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the spendour and travail of the earth." Henry Beston The Outermost House (the picture of the Giraffe and the quote was framed by a "Maria" in the year 1978). I was so struck by this quote that I obviously had to write it down. And when I finished scribbling I looked over the counter to the lady working the office and said "Gosh, that's a wonderful quote!!" And the lady looked somewhat surprised as she responded "well I guess I'll have to read what it says one of these days." When I had first asked Dr. Hagadorn about this picture and quote when we were leaving he said that it came with the office when he and his partners acquired it in the late 80's. Apparently even he hadn't read the quote. So I got back outside and opened the door to our van and told my tearful wife and boys that I wanted to walk across the street and get some flowers. And in this wonderful little florist shop called Davis Street Florist - ie. "The Living Heart Florist" - is this wonderful husband and wife who are filled with such a great positive spirit about life and living. His name is "Sunny Lee" and his wife helped me out with a bouquet of purple and white orchids - this in honor of these last days with IDA who has watched over and grown old with our three boys. Purple and white are the colors of Northwestern which remind me of Phil Chapt 4 verse 8. "And now, brothers as I close this letter let me say this one more thing: Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on then fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about. Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you." From The Living Bible p. 955 This verse happens to be the motto of Northwestern University where both my parents and I graduated from. And as I am typing these words our cat IDA is asleep in the bassinette with Andrew who was born September 20th, 9 days after 911. What wonderful bookends that our Lord creates representations for us to understand some or part of this vast spiritual reality that so full of infinite levels of meaning which make our experience on this earth so incredibly exciting and wonderful at the same time. This experience brings me back 25 years to the first year I came to Northwestern in the year 1976. At this time my father's mother was dying and in a great deal of pain. And she ended up dying on Christmas Day out in Tacoma Wasthington where my mother stills lives. . My Father's father was born on July 4th and my mother had a grandfather that was born on Christmas Day. So IDA's condition brings some or all of these threads together. For example, Thomas, our second son, was born on July 4th. He never got to meet his grandfather, my dad who past away in September of 1996 - on the 9th day from 911 going in the other direction and 23 days from August 11th, the Divine Birth. And 101 Prime days later that very year was the death of my mother's mother in Montana on December 13th just 12 Days from Christmas. And during late fateful year 1996 my entire family was in Billings Montana for Thanksgiving and to be part of a church ceremony over my Father's passing. His remains are buried there in Billings cemetary where my mother will be buried. This was the last time I saw my beautiful, stunning grandmother, Dorothy - she's had the same name as my wife's mother. At the ceremony I sang with "The Lord's Prayer" with my cousin. Great memories. Beautiful weather, etc. But moving forward with these threads, our first son, Frederick, was born the day after Christmas in the year 1993. And one of the two grandmother's of our boys was born on 19190911 and who is feeling very depressed right now. So there are many, many threads. But this ONE (1) loveable, beautiful, wonderful cat by the name of IDA is helping us through this time by showing us how all these disparate threads really do connect with one another. So that's my little story on this 9th Day of December. My God Bless us all! Peace. Light! ONE - LOVE!! GO!!