I am sure there are a few of you out there that remember the little song “Three little fishies in an idy-bidy pool.” It was one of those nonsense songs that had a catchy tune. Enough said…that was a long time ago.
This is my third or fourth fish story but please bear with me.
The other evening while watching one of those programs about funny and not so funny incidents that people have captured on their cell phones or movie cameras…there was one about a little girl and her sister standing over the toilet giving last rites to a tiny goldfish. The youngest child was sobbing and the other one was reading out of the Bible. The little one tried to let go of the fish but she kept snatching it back.(It reminded me of how I felt about my husband’s dying but like the little child, I had to eventually say goodbye.)
Actually this is not a sad story because I also remembered as a child, standing over a grave in our backyard with my two sisters, only I was reading the Anglican prayer book. It was not the first time I had buried a cat. The back yard was filled with them.
Those two little girls on TV brought back so many memories of a child’s attempt to come to grips with death. It was a hard lesson to learn…to let go of something that you loved and that once was alive. Tough! And I still ache a bit when I think of the three of us standing there crying over that cat.
In the TV version there is a black cat sitting on the sink counter staring down at the scene. I’d like to say it represented God looking over us all but most of us have bad feelings about black cats. I personally like all cats regardless of colour.
But like the cat, I believe God watches over our grief and cries with us…as Jesus once wept over the loss of someone He loved.
It was an interesting bit of TV and sometimes I think about that little girl with her two sisters, crying over the cat, not knowing this was just a preparation for the future…there would be more troubles and tears down the way and dearer things than cats to say goodbye to. I think fondly of that little girl and give thanks to God for looking after her all these many years.
