Chapter 38 – Consistent Bonding

God Cares for Us

1 Peter 4:10

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

1 Peter 5:7

“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.”

Everyone was loaded up into the SUV, except Cotton, for a trip to our local veterinarian for routine annual wellness exams. The kitties were communicating their usual disappointment with the whole of it and Kaiyah panted silently knowing this was not her usual run about. Having our cats with us was probably the biggest clue to that fact, and, I’m certain she was hopeful it was not going to be a big ridie. Even after many years of travel she was still not a fan of those long vehicle rides no matter how many treats or walkie stops we took. And we were mindful that her anxiety was not good for Gideon and Pumpkin. Thankfully the vet office was practically a hop, skip, and a jump from our residence and that was good for all of us.

We were meeting with a new veterinarian at the same office location on that occasion and prayerful all would go well with the new doctor. We were delighted and relieved by her thoughtful care and knowledge concerning Kaiyah and the kitties. The tech couldn’t have been gentler and was very sweet. And it was neat to find out that the new vet had cared for birds many decades prior although not anymore. We shared with her the changes we were seeing in Kaiyah and she assured us that was normal for her suspected age. She provided us some encouragement and suggestions for things to watch for and that we could do. There was the usual advisement to keep an eye on Gideon’s weight, but he was in overall good health. Pumpkin was a little younger than Gideon but had been a bit unusual in his sleep patterns. At times going into a very deep sleep that slowed his breathing quite dramatically, Pumpkin would wake totally disoriented at times.

Not too long before that wellness exam he had woken from one of those deep sleeps and had jumped down missing the edge of the couch - landing face forward into the table we had in front of the couch area. He landed against it with a terrible thud. He looked surprised and totally out of sorts. We were right there when it happened and immediately checked him tenderly and spoke softly. We were most definitely concerned. He had damaged his upper long tooth on the right side and it was bleeding at the gum line. We ministered a lot of love, said a few prayers, and applied cat-safe medicine topically. It stopped bleeding pretty quickly but it was clearly not pleasant for our little guy. I did ring the vet and told them what happened and we resolved to take everyone in on the next trip to the clinic. After Pumpkin’s exam we were told he may lose the tooth and to keep a close eye on him as he too was experiencing the changes that come with age. Other than what we brought to their attention, all were given a pretty clean bill of health for their respective ages.

As we made our way home it was a relief that the reports were overall positive but my heart felt a bit heavy. I quickly surrendered that to the Lord and Peter and I set out to make the arrival home extra happy with many pets and treats all around. Cotton was happy to hear us all coming through the garage door and see us as we made our way into the house. He gave his formal greeting of whistles and tweets from his home cage.

Not long after as the evening came I was stirred in my heart to consider the importance of showing attentiveness, quality time, and gentle care while communicating value to those I have known over the years whether they be people or critter. I knew the importance of love expressed through nurturing and affirming bonds, consistent bonding at every facet and stage of life especially those who have been hurt by others and that are most vulnerable. The Passage from 1 Thessalonians 5:11 rose to the surface of my heart, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” For many years, even as a young girl, I visited nursing homes, the homeless, orphanages, shelters, and many other places where people have tried to find refuge walking through difficult states of life. Every one of them wanted to feel safe and valued even though many had difficulty accepting it because of the horrible things they had been through or had chosen.

Some were afraid, others were angry, others were distant or a mix of emotions - and still there were those who were welcoming and pouring out care right back, and even those that were overwhelmed and had become outwardly indifferent or numb. Of course, we are all different even in our similarities; such is the beauty of our God Given uniqueness. I found that was also the same with other living souls including animals. Love, patient steps toward trust and steady consistent bond-building at all stages of life are important... right along with respecting boundaries and protecting dignity.

I prayed to my Heavenly Father, Who is always long-suffering, always trustworthy, always steady and consistent desiring to bond-build with us at all stages of our lives, totally respecting our boundaries and free-will while wanting to protect our dignity. He is truly that way with us. Knowing that I am frail and weak, I asked Him for Help to follow Him in every way; that His Spirit would Produce fruit in me that He would be pleased with, and trusting my Master Gardener with, at times, pruning and up-rooting. I sought Him for wisdom and sensitivity to care for this new season with Kaiyah, Pumpkin, Gideon, Cotton, and those in my life who were also transitioning into new seasons of life including Peter and me. We were still healing and dealing with new things that surfaced around us. I labored to rest in the fact that my Loving Lord Cares for us and that He takes care of us. 1 Peter 5:7: “Casting all your care upon Him; for He Careth for you.”

We had been in much prayer about moving to a place more in the country, closer to family and for direction to know, understand and follow God’s Will for the life we had been given and its transitioning seasons. Peter and I pressed more into our quality time and consistent bond-building with the Lord and His Word, in our marriage, and with those we could including our little pets. We prayed for God’s Grace in everything.

Whether grooming with care, playing, softly talking, petting, cleaning, training, feeding, taking a ride with furtherly, (fur and feather family) Bible and prayer times, or simply sharing space with our animals we both purposed, in our own ways, to provide consistent bonding with love and patience every day.

Continuing to care for the life of our little animals as Proverbs 12:10 testifies, and so our journey with Kaiyah, Gideon, Pumpkin and Cotton continued on with tender intention. Peter and I walked holding hands with our Papa God as He took care of all of us knowing exactly what lay ahead, what had been, and right where we were.

…Until we meet again…