Fourteen years ago we added a sweet little kitten named Taffy to our family. She was so fun and loved everyone in the family, but right from the start she chose my son Jared to be her “person.” She would follow him everywhere and was just happy to be with him---they were pretty inseparable. When he got back from serving his two year LDS mission, the second she saw him, she nearly jumped into his arms and wouldn’t leave his side. Her person was back!
Jared got married and moved away last year and we’ve all been trying hard to fill that space in Taffy’s everyday life. And since we’ve had Taffy for fourteen years, she’s the pet my younger kids have known their entire lives. She’s been sick for a while, though, and about six weeks ago, we knew it was time to let her go. I made the appointment with the vet and we told the kids. It was so hard for all of us! My little seven-year-old took it the hardest and in his prayers that night he asked Heavenly Father to please heal his cat because she knew all his secrets and he needed her. I could hardly hold back my sobs listening to that because I knew she was too sick to go on and might not even last the night.
The next morning, the cat who hadn’t eaten in two days and was near death greeted us as if she hadn’t been sick at all and ate her breakfast like everything was normal. My little boy was overjoyed and said that Heavenly Father had heard his prayer and given him a miracle. I could hardly believe it, but how could I go ahead with the appointment and ruin his miracle? I couldn’t.
These last six weeks since that prayer have been precious and sweet. We took lots of pictures with the kids and our sweet kitty on her good days and just let her lay quietly by us on her bad days. When Jared came over were always the best days for her and it was easy to see that.
Our time with her on earth has drawn to a close and we had to say goodbye to her today. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. All of our hearts are broken. I’m so very grateful for a little boy’s faith and prayer that gave us a tender mercy, a little miracle, and that we got six more weeks to prepare us for this goodbye. I think I’m most glad that she was able to leave this earth while being held in Jared’s arms, surrounded by her family, knowing she was very, very loved. But I’m just really, really going to miss her.
No comments:
Post a Comment