Rats and Death

My son's rat died a few days ago. The poor thing developed a tumor in her throat and gradually faded away. The last few days were very tough watching her suffer. She finally passed away on Saturday after a very courageous battle for a rodent.

Lem was devastated and had a hard time dealing with his little pet's death. It hurt his mother and me to watch him try to figure out his emotions. He has been strong about it although he has shed many tears over the past couple of days.

Death is a painful part of life. One that was brought about by our own doing. We begin dying the moment we are born. It is a sobering fact of life that one day we will face our own mortality. We as Christians believe there is life after death, but I am convinced that most of us do not really trust that this is true. If we did, would death be as troublesome to us as it is?

It is okay to mourn at the passing of a loved one, but shouldn't we celebrate more? Knowing that they are in the arms of their savior should be a comfort to us. Perhaps we should mourn for the ones left behind, but rejoice and throw a party for the one who passed. I have told my wife over and over that I want my funeral to be a party, full of clowns balloons, and music. Celebrate because your glad I'm gone, or because I am with my Jesus. I don't care the reason, just celebrate!

But I digress. My son has handled the death of his rat well. And although Jasmine was nothing more than a mere rodent, we will all miss her. God bless you ratsky.