My sweet kitty is gone.  He didn’t show up at the door this morning eager to come in for breakfast.  He still wasn’t here at lunch, so Husband set out to check our road.  It’s been our fear that Kitty Mack wasn’t road savvy, but since the traffic is very sparse on our country road, we had hoped that the odds were in his favor.  Shortly, I heard Husband open the back door.  He came in, but he didn’t say anything.  I heard him washing his hands and I knew he had found kitty dead.  I quietly came down the hall and watched him when he didn’t know I was there.  I knew he was dreading telling me.  I didn’t want to make it hard for him, so I told him I already knew.

Oh, I know.  Some will say that we shouldn’t have let our cat outside.  Funny thing is, kitty hadn’t been keen on going outside and we were relieved.  But he had started going out more and more.  He was neutered and he seemed to stay on our property, but we worried anyway.  Last evening he insisted.  Indeed, we had no peace until I let him out.  I called him twice before we went to bed.  It was raining and I decided he was holed up under our pick-up and didn’t want to make the wet dash to the front door.

And yes, I know.  It’s just a cat.  But I happened to love that cat.  He was a thing of beauty.  I got so much enjoyment from just watching him.  You pet owners are nodding.  Admiring our pets’ beauty is a daily delight, isn’t it?  Noticing the lovely things about an animal lifts your spirits, right?  Beauty of any kind is uplifting and how wonderful to have a daily dose right under your nose!  Kitty Mack was so good at purring that it’s how he got his name.  He purred so loud the first night we took in the stray little kitten that we said his purr sounded like a Mack truck idling.  You cat owners know the comfort of a warm, soft, purring bundle on your lap.  Mack would often get on my lap and look into my face and put his nose up to mine.  I’ll miss that.  He was a devoted companion.  He slept near my feet while I worked on the computer writing this blog.  Every evening he would lie next to my keyboard and display his beauty, inviting me to stroke him.  He wasn’t great at verbal communication, but he had his ways.  The look, the different meows with different meanings, the ‘come on’ back and forth run.  He even understood a few phrases.

So why would I write an article about losing my cat?  Certainly there are real tragedies to write about.  Hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes.  But this personal small loss got me thinking about love, beauty, comfort, and communication.

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”  Galatians 6:2

In the kitchen, I just needed a hug from Husband.  What a blessing to have a soul mate who will hold me when I’m sad!  We sat down together in the living room and talked as the rain and wind blustered outside and I told him about my friend whose beloved kitty died recently and she doesn’t have a kind husband to hold her.  My heart went out to her.  I want to be a better friend to her.  We talked about how hard it would be to do life if you had no belief in a kind Creator to run to for comfort. The fact that we know our Father cares and is in control makes the pain bearable.   What if we were agnostic and didn’t feel the closeness of our loving Shepherd?  Faceless Random doesn’t soothe raw emotions.  What if we had no hope of a beautiful, happy life after this life on a sad earth?

“God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Later, my spirits were lifted by a daughter’s texts who had no idea I was sad.  She just reached out in love at exactly the right time.  I hope I have the inner radar to reach out to that someone on my heart knowing they may need an expression of love right then.  I was thinking that no one will feel my love and be comforted if I don’t communicate with them.  Time spent on relationships is time well spent.  Not much lasts in this life, even relationships come and go, but I want to do all in my power to spread love around.  I know I can’t change the world.  But I can make a few people feel loved.

“Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”  Ephesians 4:29

Beauty is a visible expression of God.  He is beautiful and he made his creation beautiful.  He made our souls for beauty.  I want to bring beauty into the lives of those around me.  Each of you reading this has unique capacities for adding beauty to those around you.  Every time you contribute beauty to someone’s life, God’s whisper can be heard.  Let’s revel in God’s good gift of beauty and pass it on to someone today.

“Your eyes will see the king in his beauty
and view a land that stretches afar.  The Lord is our king.”  Isaiah 33:17,22

One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sanctuary
and set me high upon a rock.”  Psalm 27:4-5

Beauty, love, comfort, and communication my friends and family and strangers have given me this week:

Hugs at church
Friend telling me good news of a job she got
Friend taking time to PM (message) me that she liked my blog and some recent portraits I’d posted
Friend thanking me for sharing some health information
Invitation to our granddaughter’s birthday celebration
Likes and comments (some from people I don’t know) on my portrait business Facebook page
Friend offering to give me a jacket
UPS man stopping to put a brick on a padded envelope he left on my porch on a windy day
Neighbor and his grandfather and friend coming over to lend a hand with a heavy job
Neighbor showing me her house decorated for Fall. Motivated me to go home and decorate my house for Fall!
Client expressing her delight with her family wall portraits I had made
Our kids texting and calling with sympathy for loss of kitty
Friend trying to help me promote my business
Another photographer mentoring Husband and I on technical issues
Past client-turned-friend renewing our friendship across the miles by communication online
Cousin arranging a family reunion and paying for our motel.
Cousin bringing Grandmother’s tea cart to me from half way across the country
Being invited to Granddaughter’s birthday celebration
Granddaughter hugs
Granddaughter stories about school
Shared meal with daughter’s whole family
Seeing 5-year-old granddaughter meet a teacher on the street and hug her tightly and getting just as big a hug in return
Being a personal friend of said teacher and being so thankful for her in my granddaughter’s life
Update on software for painting photographs that includes a change I’d been hoping for
Beautiful paintings and photographs I’ve seen online this week.  Thanks, friends, for posting uplifting images and sending lovely ones in emails
Restaurant owner asking if I was feeling better after a virus
Texts from son warning me not to come to their house for my usual weekly visit for fear of catching a stomach bug
Getting the good news that son’s family survived the bug and it missed the youngest
Oldest son suggesting having lunch together
Husband in scores of ways making me feel cherished

Did you notice that each of these required the giver to invest time and effort?  Now, what can I do to add beauty, love, and comfort to others this week?  What will you do?

PS  Take a photo of your pet
PPS  Ask someone to take a photo of you with your pet, or do a selfie of the two of you