New Thoughts on a New Year.

 As today gets started, we have made it through the first week of 2021.  It has been an interesting week for us too as a nation, but for many of us also individually.  As a nation, it is more than interesting right now - it is downright scary.  I am going to save all that for a post on SPT later, but suffice to say, we need a LOT of prayers offered for us as a nation right now.  However, a part of me also says things are going to work out, and everything will be fine for those of us who know where to put our trust (in Christ).  And, we also know who wrote the end of the Book, and that should be an encouragement as well.  Any rate, with that being said, let me launch into my commentary for today. 

Unfortunately, I have to start out with some bad news for the year.  On December 22nd, Barbara's older sister Sue in Indiana succumbed to a nasty battle with cancer, and as a result Barbara was out there from December 23rd through January 2nd.  If that wasn't enough, on New Year's Day I spent the morning in a vigil watching the life drain from one of our sweet cats, KitKat, and he passed away at around 2:30 that afternoon.  He was fine during the morning, but then all of a sudden he collapsed and couldn't maintain his balance.  It was rough watching him suffer, and I spent a part of my New Year's digging a grave in the backyard for him.  He is at peace now, and will be missed, so I want to talk a little about him now.

We had originally gotten KitKat back in September of 2009 from a family in Spring Hill, FL, who had put him up for adoption on Craigslist then.  We had just lost our Peaches, who looked amazingly like this new boy, just eight months prior, and that was hard on both of us.  The family who had KitKat was a Hispanic family with a little girl, and as I recall they were moving to a new place and could not take him with them.  So, we paid an adoption fee of $75 and he went home with us.  KitKat was not his original name - no one knew exactly what that was honestly - so we just called him KitKat for lack of any better ideas.  KitKat was what is called a Snowshoe, which is a Siamese/Shorthair hybrid cat that is noted for their intelligence; that was what our Peaches was likewise.  At the time we adopted him, he was already about 3 or 4 years old, meaning that at his passing last week he was probably close to 15 years easily, so he had a nice long life.  Personality-wise, KitKat was more like a dog in many ways than a cat, and he was curious, loving, and never met strangers - he was not as jittery as many cats about strange people.  However, we also overcame some challenges with him over the years too.  In 2014, he contracted some kind of illness that caused him to lose all his hair, and we honestly didn't think he would survive that but he did.  However, he was not the same after that, as he lost a lot of weight and also was more frail than he used to be.  He also had stomach issues, which resulted in him vomiting a lot too, but he overcame much of that.  However, I guess his time finally came as on New Year's Day he finally passed away.  Although he could be a handful at times, he was like a child to us, and Barbara and I both loved him.  There is still a bit of heaviness over his loss for us, but we do have a lot of pictures (such as the one above) as well as good memories of him.  And, as things tend to work out, we got a blessing in disguise as a part of Barbara's sister Sue's parting legacy.

When Sue passed away on December 22nd, she had several pets that needed homes, and Barbara decided to adopt some of them.  I got four more little birds - two parakeets and two more zebra finches - and we also gained two new cats, Micky and Mallory.  Sue had gotten these two back some years ago, as in 2008 when we went up to her place for Christmas they were kittens yet, meaning they are now about 12 or 13 years old.  They are also hybrid cats too, as they have some Maine Coon heritage, and it shows in their size as they are huge!  But, they are also two of the most loveable cats one could ever imagine, and they are just real sweethearts.  When Barbara eventually gets her own place, they will be her cats, and rightfully so, but I love having them here and they are a welcome addition.  Not to mention, we may have rescued them from imminent euthanization too, which they don't deserve.  

So, as we enter the New Year, it is with 9 birds, a bunny, and 4 cats, in addition to Barbara, Mom, and myself - our house is a bit crowded to say the least!  The bunny is getting to be a challenge to upkeep, so I am actually looking to give her a new home.  If anyone reading this is interested, feel free to message me.  This year promises to be a very busy year anyway coming up, as my next doctoral classes start in 9 days, and I am also in the process of both buying my place as well as investing in a car.  A couple of possible job opportunities have presented themselves as well, one being at my parish church, and for those reading this your prayers are welcomed, needed, and appreciated.  While the prospect of liberal Democrats now controlling both the White House and Congress is a bit scary, I am reminded of three simple words that reflect a promise - God's got this!  That phrase is more valuable than gold right now, as with everything that has been going down in this nation, it is very easy to give up hope, yet we cannot do that.  And, that leads me to an inspirational thought to close this out.

Religious people are often the butt of criticisms about thinking we are better than everyone else and that our displays of our faith make us "holier than thou."  In reality, it is just the opposite - our need for God shows us just how vulnerable we are, and we don't pray or do other devotional acts to impress people with our piety, but rather we do it because it is a vital aspect of life for us.  Everyone needs God, and we all could use some help on some level.  The difference between a person of faith who seeks God and the person who does not is simple - the person of faith acknowledges limitations and honestly realizes that we cannot do everything by ourselves and that help is necessary.  That does not make us "holier than thou" by a longshot, but rather makes us honest with ourselves that we do have those limitations and seek answers from the ultimate Source as to what to do about them.  And, to make this more clear, I know I am far from perfect, and I struggle with things just like anyone else - I sometimes let loose a cussword when I am frustrated, I get angry, and I also have made my share of stupid choices, some of which I still reap consequences.  In other words, if you are looking to me for holiness, you probably should look elsewhere because I am a fallible human being with limitations.  And, like every other living thing on this earth, my physical form is not immortal - at some point, provided the Second Coming doesn't happen soon, I will die just like KitKat did a week back and nothing can prevent that - as the comedian Mark Lowery said once in one of his shows, "one in one dies."  Simply, the only certainty in life is physical death.  Some may live longer lives - the recent passing of Genevieve Musci, the 106-year-old Italian-American lady who with her 101-year-old sister "Ginga" were the viral internet sensation "Gramma and Ginga," is a prime example of that.  But, in the end everyone has that moment when we pass on to our eternal reward, whatever that ends up being.  This is why we view life as a gift, and also why many of us who are Christians are outspoken against evils such as genocide and abortion, as no one has a right to deny the sanctity of life to anyone else.  If someone does commit murder, genocide, or abortion, then the justifiable course for that is capital punishment.  Capital punishment is a topic I want to address later this year on SPT, but suffice to say there is warrant for it.  No one should be executed indiscriminately or arbitrarily, as not all offenses warrant that, but there are some actions which are so evil and so heinous that removing that person from life actually ends up saving more lives.  That may garner some disagreements from others, and that is fine - everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I respect that.  However, in my years of study and research, I came to my position on this after some very scrupulous study and reflection, and I believe it is the morally correct position to take.  If you disagree, that is your right - but, don't try to troll or harass me for differing with you.  

Those essentially conclude today's thoughts, and I hope to write more soon over the course of the year.  It is my prayer that as we do with a changing regime in Washington and a nationwide China-Virus plandemic, that we stay focused and encouraged, because any difficulties are going to be temporary and only for a season. Thank you, and will see you again soon.