LET MY WORDS BE FEW

I had a private memorial service for a sweet, baby bunny rabbit today. I had just noticed it in my yard two days ago, as my 6 month old twin yorkie babies were frantically chasing it around the yard. In and out of the flower garden and right up to the border of the briar patches (bougainvillas) they sprinted until all three were completely out of breath. Bear & Bella were delighted with their new "toy". Only I knew this was no toy and this little creature needed to stay in the briar bushes where the yorkies wouldn't go. The yorkies had already been practicing the chase with the baby bunny's parents for weeks. I saw one of those parents on Sunday afternoon. It was chased out of the flowers by the twins. With Bear & Bella hot on his tail, the rabbit crashed right through an opening about 1 1/2 inches in width!!! I was amazed at what I had just seen...the courage and the faith that rabbit had to run, crashing, right into that tiny opening without any hesitation! Now I am sure this rabbit had done this deed many other times in haste, but it was the first time I had ever seen such a feat. That rabbit weighed at least 5 pounds and was as wide and tall as my biggest yorkie. It seemed impossible to me that it could get through that opening...but he didn't have my lack of faith. But back to the memorial service today. I was on the phone rejoicing with a dear friend over a great victory she had in a certain matter, when I heard all the commotion outside. I don't know if my yorkies scared that baby bunny to death or if it died some other way, but they were viciously fighting each other over who would get to play with the now deceased "toy". I had to pull them apart with all my strength as they were deeply engaged in harming each other. I prayed out loud, "Lord, don't let them bite ME in their ferver". They didn't bite me and for that I was thankful...for me AND for them, if you know what I mean. After I got the twins into the house, I went back out to the bunny. It was frozen stiff in a sprinting position with its eyes still open. It broke my heart. It looked like it was still alive, so much so that I had to get down and poke it to make sure. I went inside to find a suitable burial box and found just the right one. Then, of course, I had to find flowers, which I did. Pretty ones, blue daze, knock-out red roses, and some golden orange ones that I can never remember the name of. Then I wrote out a prayer to God. It was actually a prayer of praise and victory. Victory because I believe that bunny will live again, because I care and because I asked God for that. One day, in the 1000-year reign of Christ on earth, the lion will lay with the lamb and I just imagine the yorkie will cuddle with the bunny as well. I hope my yorkies cuddle with this bunny and, in doggie talk, tell it how sorry they were to frighten it so and treat it like an inanimate toy. But that is really stretching the faith! What I realized from this event today is that life has its ups and downs--great moments of victorious shouting and praising and singing over some great and marvelous things, which can quickly, in an instant, turn into great mourning and sadness over the death of a sweet, innocent thing. But I also realized that perspectives can be a choice and in that moment, I chose to rejoice. I found a way to praise God. I praised Him because I was able to see faith lived out by its parents in crashing through an impossibly small opening. I praised Him because He showed me life can be like that...we are offered a way of escape from what is trying to beat us down or take us out and we just have to have the courage to bust through that opening no matter how impossible it seems. We have others who have gone before us and who have shown us the way it can be done. We can follow their example or, we can try it our way...the way the baby bunny did...making ourselves vulnerable to our own inexperience and maybe even prideful self-success. I praised Him because I realized that unless we follow the example of our mentors and elders who have walked this way before and succeeded, we will find ourselves trying to do it our way, the inexperienced way, the way that only leads to destruction and death of a dream and, sometimes, sadly, even loss of a sweet, precious life. My vison is a little clearer tonight because I had a private memorial service today.