Blessing of the Pets

2 Samuel 12 1-3 “The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³ but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.”

I was raised on a small farm. The neighbors called it the “Horse and Puppy show” because the land wasn’t good for growing much and neither of my parents had any expertise for growing plants. Instead my mother did rescue and rehabilitation for horses and ponies that she later sold to 4 H members. That supported mother’s “horse habit” as we had our own family equines. My mother was fond of saying “You can’t always trust a person but a horse will never lie.” Mother also breed AKC Pekinese dogs. So a few times a year we had a litter of puppies to play with and “gentle” so they would make good pets for their new families. Mother firmly believed that a child raised with animals in the family would learn respect, responsibility and to be a caring individual. As a result I have always had a love for animals and a pet of some sort in my life. Currently this includes 4 dogs, fish and several rodents including 4 fancy Norwegian rats.

Fast forward to October 4^th. The Blessing of the Pets at our church. When my kids heard it was coming up both immediately asked if the rats could come. I wasn’t sure. Rats are remarkable but they do have an image problem. It would be a good opportunity for people to see what great pets they make.  My kids, Hannah and Josiah petitioned each day for 2 weeks before I agreed. As we got ready that afternoon I had my doubts. What if the staff and clergy I work with each day made ugly faces at my little darlings? What about the parents of my Sunday School students?  What if people said unkind things and thought that I was weird? Maybe “the girls” wouldn’t be treated like the other more common pets like dogs and cats. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

I worried for nothing. The children from my Sunday School classes rushed to pet Sunny, Daisy and Rosy. There was a chorus of “Mom I want a rat too!” Many adults asked lots of thoughtful questions. A friend insisted in “renting a rat” and one of the youth stopped by to say “oh man that’s so cool!” The clergy and my co-workers were genuinely gracious. Everyone was polite and all 3 rats were dutifully blessed.  As we got ready to leave an elderly woman with a cane came over to the crate I was carrying. I held my breath. It had been a lovely afternoon; I didn’t want to end it with somebody’s grandmother passed out on the grass. She peered inside and asked if they were rats. I told her “yes” not sure if she was expecting cats. She wasn’t, instead as we walked into the building she leaned on my arm telling me all about how when she was a little girl she had a large white rat as a pet. She continued on about how she couldn’t believe her mother let her keep it in her room. As The Husband took the crate with Daisy, Sunny and Rosy home, she prattled on about her childhood. I walked inside with my new buddy all the time thinking it was me, not just the animals that had been blessed that afternoon.

Dear God,

We thank You for giving us this wonderful life, our loving and devoted
families, caring and compassionate friends, and especially our pets
for their unconditional love and trust; they do not love us for
our earthly possessions or our social status, but solely for who
we are.

We pledge to You, dear God, that we will always take care of these
wonderful friends and these faithful and loving animals that You
have left in our trust, and we will always see You in their eyes and
feel Your presence in their love and affection to us!

Amen