Sunday Reflections...

We were driving home from our friend's house last night. There are no lights on our street, but we were going the speed limit.

I saw a flash of a tail.

Scott screamed in a way I've never heard before.

He swerved.

We hit a cat.

We quickly got out of the car to see what had happened, but the cat was not in the road. With held breaths, we checked under the car. Not there either. It took us a good ten minutes before we gave up and got back in our car to head home.

And that's when our headlights found him. Laying peacefully under a car in a nearby driveway. He was gone. We feel horrible.

Horrible doesn't really describe what we feel. I really have never seen Scott act the way he did. He didn't cry or scream or anything, he just kind of stared, and couldn't make a decision. I had to really suck up my emotions because I knew one of us had to be in control of the situation, and Scott couldn't do it. I suppose if I was the one driving, I wouldn't have been able to either.

So I told him we need to check the collar. We need to find the owner. It was 1 in the morning, but this cat BELONGED to someone. Someone who loved it enough to put a collar on it. We went across the street to a house with lights on, and they told us the driveway the cat was in belonged to a couple in our church congregation. Great.

We went back to the scene of the tragedy and knocked and knocked on the door, hoping they would answer so we could tell them what happened, or they would be able to help us figure out who owned this cat. They didn't answer.

I kept telling Scott: "We have to check the collar. We have to tell the owners right now." Neither one of us could do it. So we said a prayer, right there on that dark street, asking for peace for this animal's spirit, and discernment and courage to do the right thing. But still, I couldn't do it. As strong as I was being, I couldn't check the collar.

So Scott did. It took him a good half hour to get the courage to do it, but he did. That's when I starting crying. I couldn't watch. There was no name, just a bell. Another cat was meowing around the house, and that one also had a bell. This cat most likely belonged here.

So we went home, and I had a phone/address directory of our church congregation. I searched their address, and found a phone number. Of course, they didn't answer. I mean, who's going to answer some unknown number at quarter to 2 in the morning? I sent them a text:

"I know it's late, but if you own a cat with a bell on a green collar, PLEASE CALL ME ASAP!"

A minute later, they called back. I told them what happened.

"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" he said on the other line.

I told him we wanted to make sure they knew. Apparently they weren't home, but the owner said: "We'll meet you there."

Have you ever faced the family of a pet you killed? It's the worst thing ever, besides losing your pet. Apparently this was the woman's favorite cat. She had raised him since he was a baby.

I did most of the talking, Scott couldn't really function. I told the husband and wife how horribly sorry we were. The wife didn't say anything. She just sat in the car crying. The husband thanked us for coming over and letting them know. We left our name and phone number and a promise that if they needed ANYTHING, we were willing to help.

And then we went home.

We have been pretty depressed about the whole thing. I mean, this has never happened to either of us before. But we do have some spiritual knowledge that has comforted us, and we hope will comfort the couple at this time.