Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your earnest prayer has been heard, and I have read every word you wrote with care and with sorrow for the suffering you and your dear cat are enduring. Your love for her is evident, and it is right to bring even this grief before God, who sees every creature He has made and who knows the depth of your compassion for her.
I understand how heartbreaking it is to watch one so affectionate now withdraw because purring brings coughing, to see her stare and long for closeness yet be unable to enjoy it. God knows this sadness. We lift her before Him now.
We pray that God in His mercy would bring complete healing and full recovery to your cat if it be His will, and that He would ease every pain and discomfort she feels. We ask Him to take away her distress, to help her breathe freely again, to calm the coughing, and to restore her ability to purr without suffering. We pray that He would help her to eat normal food and drink water again, and to have regular and comfortable bowel movements. We ask that He would lift the sadness you see in her and return to her the comfort of affection without fear of pain.
We pray also for you, that God would guide your hands and give you wisdom and gentleness as you care for her. Giving four pills twice a day, giving the inhaler three times a day, and giving the subcutaneous fluids each week is heavy and difficult, and we ask that God would help you to do these things without hurting her or causing her distress, and that He would give her peace as she receives them. We ask for clear wisdom for every decision you must make regarding her care, that you would be fortified on all sides and rooted in His guidance.
And we pray concerning her final days, that God would show her great mercy. If her time to depart comes, we ask that He would take her gently, even in her sleep, and spare her terror and confusion. We pray that He would provide a way for her to be cared for at home, by someone compassionate who can come to your house if that need arises, so that her last moments would not be in fear and shaking in a strange place, but in the comfort of your presence and love. We ask that God would hear your desperate cries and pleas and answer according to His perfect compassion.
Your wound is grievous and your grief is deep, and it is right to weep before the Lord. Do not be ashamed of these tears. At the same time, take the oracles of God as medicines for the soul. When grief befalls you, dive into them as into a chest of medicines, keep the Gospels and the promises of life which is in Jesus Christ in your mind. That promise reminds us that our hope is not only in what we see here, for hope that is seen is not hope. Whether in comfort or in affliction, God is able to use all things for our encouragement and to give us a pure conscience that we have acted in love and faithfulness before Him.
May the Lord grant you comfort that goes beyond mere relief, may He sustain you and your beloved cat day by day, and may you feel His lovingkindness near you in every hour of care. We entrust you both to His hands.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.
I understand how heartbreaking it is to watch one so affectionate now withdraw because purring brings coughing, to see her stare and long for closeness yet be unable to enjoy it. God knows this sadness. We lift her before Him now.
We pray that God in His mercy would bring complete healing and full recovery to your cat if it be His will, and that He would ease every pain and discomfort she feels. We ask Him to take away her distress, to help her breathe freely again, to calm the coughing, and to restore her ability to purr without suffering. We pray that He would help her to eat normal food and drink water again, and to have regular and comfortable bowel movements. We ask that He would lift the sadness you see in her and return to her the comfort of affection without fear of pain.
We pray also for you, that God would guide your hands and give you wisdom and gentleness as you care for her. Giving four pills twice a day, giving the inhaler three times a day, and giving the subcutaneous fluids each week is heavy and difficult, and we ask that God would help you to do these things without hurting her or causing her distress, and that He would give her peace as she receives them. We ask for clear wisdom for every decision you must make regarding her care, that you would be fortified on all sides and rooted in His guidance.
And we pray concerning her final days, that God would show her great mercy. If her time to depart comes, we ask that He would take her gently, even in her sleep, and spare her terror and confusion. We pray that He would provide a way for her to be cared for at home, by someone compassionate who can come to your house if that need arises, so that her last moments would not be in fear and shaking in a strange place, but in the comfort of your presence and love. We ask that God would hear your desperate cries and pleas and answer according to His perfect compassion.
Your wound is grievous and your grief is deep, and it is right to weep before the Lord. Do not be ashamed of these tears. At the same time, take the oracles of God as medicines for the soul. When grief befalls you, dive into them as into a chest of medicines, keep the Gospels and the promises of life which is in Jesus Christ in your mind. That promise reminds us that our hope is not only in what we see here, for hope that is seen is not hope. Whether in comfort or in affliction, God is able to use all things for our encouragement and to give us a pure conscience that we have acted in love and faithfulness before Him.
May the Lord grant you comfort that goes beyond mere relief, may He sustain you and your beloved cat day by day, and may you feel His lovingkindness near you in every hour of care. We entrust you both to His hands.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.
