Friendships with Pets
I can’t imagine my life without my pets. I have a cat and a dog that live with me but I also seem to meet animals wherever I go. Animals live by instinct. They don’t have all the facts before they act. I believe that instinct is often God’s way of giving us information without all of the facts. Animals are great for following their instinct and we humans could learn a lot from them.
My pets can sense my mood. We don’t speak the same language, although I do talk to them and I feel in my heart they understand. Tiger and Coco are always a comfort to me. I love to hold my cat but he can only stand so much of this. It is when I am resting that he comes by and sits next to me. He likes to greet me at the door.
Practicing Patience
I have learned about patience through my pets. I have a senior dog and one of the side effects of old age is a weak bladder. In the beginning my first instinct when I found her accidents was yell. But when I looked into her sad, brown eyes I decided to show love. I gave her a hug and a scratch before aI cleaned up her mistakes. I know that she is trying and I must be more patient.
My cat tries my patience in a different way because he is so mischievous. He climbs into containers, knock things over and he loves to shred paper towels and toilet paper. UGH!!!! He sneaks up on the dog and pounces or swats. I have learned to be patient with his antics and accept them as part of his personality.
Animals Show Unconditional Love
Animals bring so much unconditional love to our lives. They always want to be with you and comfort you. Both of my pets were rescued and they show me how grateful they are everyday. When my human friends may be busy but my dog is always there to listen to me.
We are commanded to take care of our pets. In Proverbs 12:10 it says’A righteous man regards the life of his animals, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel’ Animals are totally dependent on us for all their needs. My pets are family members and when they get sick as my dog did last year I took her to the vet. Her healing costs me hundreds of dollars and it was a sacrifice paying that bill. It makes me so sad when I see animals being mistreated.
God put people over the animals and unfortunately some of us abuse that power. I could not imagine my life without animals, although I admit there are some animals I love more than others. (Rodents, snakes and other creepy, crawly things aren’t my favorites but I respect their existence.)
In 1 Kings 17:2-6 the exiled prophet Elijah was fed by ravens illustrating that sometimes animals can be better friends than people. There are countless times that I was feeling sad, when a loving nudge from my pets has brought a smile to my face. Pets love without judgement and for the most part want to be with you. I thank God everyday for my pets.