Copyright December 1986
[Part 2]
As she opened the door, Alice's fully-blossomed six-year-old skepticism got the best of her.
"I'm not so sure Cat was in that box!" Alice announced.
"I'm sure the Vet was telling the truth," said Mother. "I'm sure she put Merryweather in there gently. She did her best."
"Was it our fault that Cat died?" asked Nick.
"No," said Mother, "we did our best, too."
"If we dig up Cat tomorrow, will his bones be there?" piped Alice, who had seen birds' bones turned up by the plow after some of their more hasty bird funerals.
"No," said Mother, "it takes some time for a cat's body to turn to dust."
"Does God dig up his soul, then?" persevered Alice.
"No," Mother answered gently as she put her hand on Alice's shoulder. "A soul is something like a little light. It goes to heaven without our seeing it. His body on earth was so worn out that Merryweather's little light couldn't stay in it anymore."
"An animal's soul," Mother continued, "isn't exactly like our souls. For one thing, animals don't sin. For all we know, animals may see the angels who around us all the time, who are invisible to us because of sin, and animals may see Jesus walking among them on earth, just like He did in the New Testament. When we get to heaven, we may be so excited seeing Jesus and the angels that we may forget at first to look for Merryweather."
"Can he come back to see us then?" asked Erin.
"No," said Mother, "once a creature goes back to heaven where his soul was made, he just doesn't want to come back to earth anymore."
"I hope I get to go to heaven tomorrow to see Mr. Merryweather," Erin said decisively.
"Oh, don't be in such a hurry," smiled Mother, as she got a bowl of yeast dough out of the refrigerator and started kneading it to make rolls. "You're just four years old, Erin, and it hasn't been long since God made your soul and sent you to Daddy and me. Stay here with us a while. Besides, God would be mad at you if you tried to get back to heaven before your work was done, and only He will know when that is. People are supposed to try to live a hundred years if they can at all."
"Will Merryweather remember me after a hundred years?" asked Erin, who by now had flour from Mother's breadboard all over her hands and was sitting on the kitchen counter top close by.
"I'm sure he will," said Mother. "Remember what Great-Uncle Walter said when his cat, Scooter, died last summer? He said, 'If the lion can lie down with the lamb, I can at least look for my cat.' He was talking about when he goes to heaven, and he will probably go sooner than we will, because he's a lot older than we are."
Suddenly, Mother began to cry. She had flour and dough all over her hands, and had to wash them at the kitchen sink before she could rip loose a paper towel to dry her eyes and blow her nose.
No comments:
Post a Comment