Going For A Drive

When he was in a nursing home, I would frequently take my dad out for car drives. Most of the time he would just fall asleep, but that was OK. For a while he would be back out in the world and away from the dreariness of Country Crest. It was nice that we live in a relatively rural area, so it was easy to just meander around. Go past fields with horses. Little country roads. I wouldn’t have a set route but would try to vary it a bit. Several places had landmarks that I could point out to Dad. A really unusual bird house. A house with a lot of lovely stone work on the front. Going up to Kelly Ridge and finding deer. Just tootling along. Not a lot of talking. I’d keep the drive to about a half hour and then head back to Country Crest.

After he died I found that I missed those meandering drives. It’s really not that much fun when you’re alone. I’ve never been one to drive just for the pleasure of driving. I did enjoy the drives with Dad, though.

The Cross That Doesn’t Reach

Several years ago I saw this picture. I took great exception to it for many reasons.Click on the picture to see a larger version.

The man finds his burden too great and asks God for help to lighten it. He asks for help twice. And this is entirely Biblical:

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.” Psalm 55:22

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28

“For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’” Isaiah 41:13

After his cross has been lightened, the man is grateful and thanks the Lord. As is proper.

Then the man comes to the chasm. The others lay down their crosses as a bridge in order to travel on. The man’s cross is too short and won’t reach. This leaves the man in great despair.

This is NOT how it should end! There was no reason for the man to be faulted for asking the Lord to help him. It implies that he is denied entrance (to Heaven?) because of his weakness in carrying the full cross.

Someone else has ALREADY carried the full cross! And conquered it!

The way it SHOULD have ended (in my opinion) is that one of the others should’ve SHARED their cross and they BOTH could have traveled over. The other way it could’ve gone is for someone to help him carry that cross in the first place.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

Being a follower of Jesus Christ doesn’t mean everything is a bed of roses. We WILL have burdens. Sometimes very heavy ones. And some people hid their burdens (crosses) so no one else will see them. Brothers and sisters in Christ should come together to share these burdens.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

1 Thess 5:11  

Missing Harper – One Year Later

Harper left us a year ago. He was in increasingly ill health, and there just wasn’t anything more we could do. I had decided 4 years previous when we had to put Sheba to sleep that Harper would be our last cat. I’ve had so many cats over the years and have loved them all. And whenever it was time to say goodbye it just destroyed me. I knew when it was Harper’s time that would be it. I could not take any more goodbyes. And I’ve held to that decision.

When your kids go out on their own, you have an empty nest. With cats, you have an empty lap. Harper was the best lap cat I’d ever had. That was one of the hardest things to get used to at first. Sitting in front of the TV with no cat.

That’s about all I can say. I have great memories of all my kitties, except for the end when I had to say goodbye. Just can’t do it anymore.

I’m still a crazy cat lady. I just don’t have one in my lap.