This message is from: "Frederick J Pack" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I hope this helps a little....we know what you are going through all too
well....
Stories teach.
Once upon a time (Genesis 9: 8-17), God made a promise to Noah, to all human
kind, and (significantly) to all animals on the ark: never again would a
flood destroy the earth. God signed that promise, placing a rainbow in the
heavens.
The Hebrew word qesheth, as used in this passage, has the same meanings as
the English word bow: a qesheth, or bow, is an implement used to shoot
deadly arrows. By extension, it is anything shaped like a bow. In times and
cultures where the bow, often highly decorated, was a primary military
weapon, chieftains ratified peace treaties publicly by hanging up their war
bows. When God hung that gloriously colored bow in the heavens, it sealed a
covenant between the Supreme Being and all earthly creatures.
Eventually the oral tradition of Genesis was written down, and all who read
or heard its message understood the symbol of the rainbow: so long as that
bow stood in the heavens, there would be an effective treaty between God and
earth.
Whenever a rainbow appears, we see tangible evidence, an arched bridge
between earth and heaven, of a divine promise. It is a path between known
and unknown, between finite and infinite, between storm and sunshine. Gods
brilliant, beautiful, celestial signature confirms unending, individual
concern for all creatures. Its ephemeral splendor takes our breath away, and
we stop a moment, staring, mouths agape, awed in the presence of something
so wonderful. And we remember its significance.
Animal lovers use the earth-bound base of the rainbow to symbolize the
verdant, flower-strewn meadows, hills, and groves, interwoven by cool,
murmuring streams of sweet water, where our dearly missed companion
animals--now transfigured, forever healthy-gambol and await our arrival.
When finally we join them, equally transfigured, and following a joyful
re-acquaintance, we will cross an eternal promise into heaven together,
there to be united again with our human family and friends who have preceded
us, many with their own animal companions.
How sweet, how glorious those reunions will be! Our eyes fill with tears of
anticipation: the sound of a beloved voice, the touch of a well-known hand,
the familiar but long-gone scent, the soft fur we knew so well, the velvet
shape of an ear, the pink, smiling tongue. Together again, for all eternity!
Like Noah, we bring animals into our lives with delight, knowing the great
probability that they will predecease us. Before separation and sorrow,
however, comes unconditional love, a love so joyously profound that it
transcends even death.
Death itself is as integral to life as birth. Both are part of an unending
cycle of change, of beginnings and endings, of additions and losses. But the
rainbow promise is constant and eternal as God.
Now we come to a new year, an ending and a beginning, a death and a birth.
As the old year dies and the new is born, we remember the joy and the sorrow
of the past, and we look forward with hope to the future. As we ponder these
matters, we count our manifold blessings, and we resolve to better our world
and ourselves.
It is fitting on such an occasion to pause in remembrance of those we have
lost during the past twelve months.
So many are gone!
We each remember members of our family. Our friends: Those others who
touched our lives, our minds, our hearts, our imaginations, our souls. All
these people we loved, each in her, or his, own way. They gave our lives
meaning, and our spirits wings and song. We will see them again, and not, we
are promised, through a glass darkly, but then face-to-face.
On the threshold of a new year, we mourn those of whatever race,
nationality, or creed who perished in disaster, conflict, or
earth-shattering conflagrations and plagues of terror. We have seen the
grim visage of evil among us.
But, there are numberless others who slipped away without recognition or
honor. They, too, deserve our prayerful reflection.
We remember our beloved companion animals, those blessed creatures who
shared our lives all too briefly. And we think of those poor waifs who
departed this life without ever knowing human love; or, having known it,
lost it. All are waiting in our imaginations, there at the earthly beginning
of Gods promise, until we are called home.
The rainbow promises that we and our animals are each known by the Designer
and Creator of the Universe. Our finite inability to comprehend an infinite
plan does not alter this truth.
As we consider the Noaic Covenant and the legend of the Rainbow Bridge, may
we remember those we no longer see, or touch, or hear; may tears of memory
assuage our earthly pain (tears, too, are Gods gift); and may we rejoice in
the wonder, the joy, the love our friends and companions brought into our
lives. In the midst of remembrance, acknowledge that the Creator loves us
each and every one, and loves our animal companions as well: we have the
rainbow as proof and promise.
God is love and God will wipe away all tears from our eyes.
Pause now.
Remember those no longer here.
Remember the human companions who shared your earthly journey.
Remember the animal companions who shared your love.
Remember the rainbow.
Remember your Creator.
Be thankful, and rejoice.
Stories teach.
This was written by: John Klaus, Mount Vernon, IA several years ago.
All Mail is scanned in AND out by Norton Anti-virus.
Fred and Lois Pack
Pack's Peak Stables
Wilkeson, Washington 98396
.
This message is from: "Sue Clark-Sorger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
.
The FjordHorse List archives can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/rcepw
