Sharing my boy stories!

This is a short video clip of my late darling Manx cat Kiara. As the clip clearly reveals, this boy was a joyful, funloving, cuddly, adorable and affectionate creation of our Mighty Lord. A little creation that offered unconditional love and a means of making life that much more desireable to share, for a wonderful period of just over 3 years.

In a previous post, I shared the tragic death of my other loveable Manx cat, Narla, who was attacked by dogs next door, dying two days later on the 20 June 2003. His death sent me into deep mourning for nearly a year. I figured later that because Narla was such a major distraction in my life, a distraction that kept me from my needful focus on God and then my family, I needed to reacess my priorities, put them in order and start living the life I needed to, firstly for Jesus and then my family. I did just that and I grew spiritually which helped me get over my mourning.

I still have one surviving Manx, Simba. This cat, unlike the other two, has a mind of his own and dictates when he is ready for any form of affection, rules by which we have learned to live. I had decided that the death of Narla was just too much and asked that my family kindly refrain from any attempts to replace him to which they agreed and stuck to this plea. Until October 2oo4, when Kiara revealed his cute self through a friend of my husband. He was conned into my hands and once I saw him, there was no turning back, I was sold.

Then on the 4 May 2008, the dog on the opposite boundary attacked Kiara, who then died from his injuries two days later, on the 6 May. I was once again torn apart with grief, but this time I gave my pain to God who took it and relieved me of the intensity that I had felt with Narla. By already having Jesus Christ as the number one priority in my life, understanding and dealing with my pain was a lot easier with His arms lovingly surrounding me.

Grief is a natural emotion which should be expressed to release the tension and pain deep within. However, when you ask God to help you cope, He eagerly steps in and endures the brunt of it, allowing you the space to cry within the safe, warm and welcome comfort of His arms. So, even though the pain is still there, God is in front of it, blocking out the deathly devastation that evil forces still desire to inflict on me. As I make Jesus my number 1, He makes protecting me His priority in my times of need, together with every other time too.

Zephaniah 3:17 (NRSV) The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.