Sunday, 4 May 2025
Listening to Ms Hannah Wu’s sharing the other day reminded me of my experience of having a cat as a pet and I would like to share the story with you.
It all started on one stormy night when I heard miaowing sounds coming from the dumpster when I was throwing out the rubbish. Upon closer inspection, I found a kitten, the size of my palm, all by itself. It was soaked through with rain, shivering and frail and we were certain it wouldn’t make it. However, under our nurturing and care, it grew to be a healthy and strong cat. Since we found him in November, we called him Novie and all was well.
A few years later, we noticed that he would sit on the windowsill, looking out at night. Since we lived on the ground floor and had a mosquito net, we left the window open a bit so he could get some fresh air while we slept. One morning, when we woke up, we found that the mosquito net had been ripped off the window and Novie was gone. My sisters were devastated! Seeing this, my father and I went out around the village, searching for Novie. We eventually found him but in the process of catching him and bringing him home, both myself and my father got covered in bites and scratches, our clothes got ripped, blood was everywhere. We got him back though, and all was well again in the Manchester household.
Then it happened again. Mosquito net was ripped. Novie was gone.
However, seeing how torn apart my sister was emotionally, how torn apart my father and I were after our last rescue attempt, after a long yet fruitless search, we decided to let nature take its course and Novie was never seen again.
Now, how is this story related to the theme of this month’s prayers – Thanksgiving? The whole experience was a terrible one. We lost a pet that we cared greatly for. My father and I were still healing from our wounds. We were all very, very unhappy. Thinking back though, having had a bit of separation between the experience and the reflection, I can honestly say that we were thankful that the family was there to help each other out. We helped each other, supported each other, and comforted each other through this tough time. I was thankful for the experience that became a story I could share with you.
Through any adversity in life, although at the time of the incident occurring, you may feel like it is the end of the world, you may be extremely troubled by it or maybe even hurt by it. But take a step back and you will be able to see that there are always things you can be thankful for. It may be as simple as being thankful that you were able to overcome it or it could be that it inspires you to save humanity. All you need to do is take a moment and look for it. You will be able to find something to be thankful about.
There is one more thing my experience helped me with and that is I know for a fact that I am a dog lover.
Mr. Graham Manchester
7 July 2022