Numbers 20-24; Mark 15:26-47;Mark 16

Hello All. I know this is a bit off topic, but even after reading the sections of scripture for yesterday and today, I still had something else on my heart, so bear with me.

After seven months we said goodbye to our cat today. We admitted defeat and returned him to the Humane Society. As hard as we tried, we couldn’t teach an old cat new habits. As hard as we tried to train him, he wouldn’t stop biting.
It was hard to admit defeat. A part of me never wanted to give up, but I had too. It was hard for me to admit that enough was enough. My husband and I had tried everything we could think of, but the cat wouldn’t change. He was an old cat with set ways, ways that didn’t a line with our lifestyle.
I know there will be other pets. I know that we will be fine without him. But for right now, at this moment, I wish we didn’t have to let go. I wish that our cat was always the cuddly, affectionate cat he was 98% of the time. And I wish he wasn’t a demon cat for the other 2%. Why can’t there be a perfect cat? Why are cats imperfect, just like us humans?
The only answer I can come up with is that we live in an imperfect world. Sometimes we can’t change the habits of an animal, as hard as we try. That’s just the way it is. Sometimes we just have to let go of a pet, as much as it might pain us to do so.
This imperfect world is messy. We saw some of that messiness in yesterday and today’s reading. Sometimes this messy world really hurts. That’s why I’m thankful for a God that understands what I’m feeling. Defeated. Melancholy. Sad. I’m thankful for a God who sent his son to die on the cross and save me from my sins. I’m thankful that one day, all of the imperfection and pain of this world will pass away (Revelation 21:4). I’m thankful for a God that meets me where I am each and every day.
“O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD” (Psalm 139:1-4).