A Friend Passes On

SUN., NOV. 12, 1995, 7:52 PM
FARM, STUDY

This was not a good 24 hour period for you, even as it will be memorable in some ways. Doing a “good deed” for the crippled folk in the family, which included some running, resulted in a twisted foot and the return of pain and loss of function. I won’t tell you whether or not it is serious, but I do approve of your going the natural healing route, with as much “normal” walking as possible.

The pain of the happening this day overcame the physical pain of your foot rather well as you dug a grave for this “close friend”, your little dog, Charity. Her death was not one you witnessed, fortunately. Instead, the “revealing” came at the end of a pleasant after-church brunch, and it certainly changed your mood for the remainder of this day. The two honest emotions were sadness and anger… sadness from the reality of a still-warm but lifeless body of a small creature who has meant so much to you, and anger at Joyce for allowing this to happen. She saw how you handled the highway crossings yesterday, and she failed to follow your leading, and Charity died. Many of your dogs have been killed on this highway, through the years. This death was not expected, and your spirit aches for the loss of this friend.

You felt and displayed real anger toward the statement that anyone could make, perhaps in an attempt to direct your spirit to a gentler balance… “she was only a dog”. For you she was a friend who was committed, loyal, and full of love, unrelated to your worth or behavior. Only a few humans relate to you in this way, so consistently.

As you dug the grave and then caressed that furry friend for the last time you considered whether there was or was not a continuation of the spirit that was Charity. Your Christian perception, which is also based on what I have told you, in addition to My Holy Scriptures, does not include the notion that animals, including the domesticated ones, have a soul. They have a spirit, but this does not survive bodily death. Yet it seemed “right”, in conjunction with Pete’s death, that Stash would be “with him in Paradise”, continuing the closeness that they shared in life. That didn’t change your basic perception, but seemed to be more of “an exception”.

You remember, of course, the Hindu premise that the soul now in a human may next be in an animal, even a dog, presumably. You don’t perceive as much value on dogs in their culture as in yours, so this would probably represent the reincarnation response to some undesirable karma. Though I assure you of the reality of everlasting life and of karma (as you sow, so shall you reap) I do not tell you that all animals have souls… or even that every one in a human body automatically has a developing soul.

What I do tell you is that I can never be held to “one way” or reacting and creating… even to ways expressed in Holy Scripture. Domestic animals were not a part of Biblical cultures the way they are in this culture of yours. Animals could be useful, they were sources of food, and some were sacrificed to Me in ways that no longer seem holy and a proper tribute to Me. You can’t remember any Scriptural passages that include animals as pets, particularly in as wonderful a relationship as you and Charity had. You shall be more alert to such possible references, but you don’t expect to find any.