CHARLEY THE CAT
"It was around Thanksgiving, just after our daughter turned five, that we brought Charley home. We named him after Charles, Prince of Wales.
The name seemed to fit just right for this shy little newly-adopted member of our family. His wonderful blue eyes seemed to look deep into your heart.
He was a bundle of joy always letting us know when he wanted attention. He was easy to love and each of us in our family grew closer and closer to him in our own special way. He brought us many years of joy.
But quite suddenly at the age of eleven, he was overcome with cancer that came on suddenly and rapidly took its toll.
We earnestly sought God for his healing. We laid hands on him daily hoping that God would touch him miraculously and restore him. We put his name on the prayer chain at church. We spent hours with the doctor trying to find a medical cure.
Each night I would go into his room and just sit with him, holding him close to me. The thought of losing him was unbearable.
One day I received a frantic call at the office from my wife. She was extremely upset, crying uncontrollably. I could hear Charley crying, gasping for air.
She had just taken him to the doctor when, without warning, he took a turn for the worse. He died shortly afterward. I was grief-stricken. I was also very angry.
Our precious Charley was dead. I couldn't believe that God would allow Him to die that way, and without me being there to help console and support my wife and daughter.
I silently cried as we said our last good-byes. It was a horrible time for us. The loss of Charley was devastating.
The grief we experienced was just as deep as though he were human. You see, Charley was our beautiful flame point Himalayan cat.
The death of a cat may seem trite in comparison with a human, but, nonetheless, the grief we experienced was just as real as though he had been our own flesh and blood.
Every now and then something will trigger the sadness of his loss. The anger I had for many months afterward is now gone.
I had to come to a place of forgiving God for all that happened. I had to submit to His sovereignty in order to alleviate the pain and hurt I was carrying. It has helped me in learning to trust Him more.