I just had another small lesson in life presented to me in such a way that I can understand. I am hard headed and sometimes like to think I am right, even when it is not so. Sometimes I am right in some respects but maybe just needed to learn how to deal with problems in a different way. God knows what we need to learn and we will learn it whether we want to or not.

My problems began when my little cat, Precious came home about a week ago from a few minutes of being outside. She loves to play out in the great outdoors, chasing butterflies and other small critters she encounters, dreaming she is in the bush, I’m sure. I saw that she was on the patio so I called her to come inside. She just sat there so I went and picked her up and brought her in.

She was shaking and meowing in a small, painful way. I sat her down and she just sat there, with a glazed look in her eye. She tried to get up on her feet and I noticed she was favoring her back right leg. Precious is fluffy and when I looked her over she had no visible marks but I was afraid to handle her a lot so I sat her back down. This little baby sat and stared.

I live on a very fixed income and didn’t have the money for a veterinarian. I was sick inside and just kept watching her and praying. She would go behind the couch and sleep and I tried not to disturb her, trying all the time to get her to eat. She finally started drinking sips of water after a day or so and I felt she would live.

A friend of mine in New Jersey, Ted, sent me the money to take her to the vet. By that time, she had began to walk around and eat a little. I was relieved and felt she would be alright. She still couldn’t jump but I knew it would take a few days. It was a harrowing experience for both of us.

This was the second time this same thing had happened here in this trailer park and I began to feel anger. I felt that it was one of the many dogs here that are allowed to roam loose. Most of the people here are from the north and maybe just don’t realize there is a leash law for dogs, I was thinking. My little cat is legal in the state of Florida and all other states as long as she is tagged. Of course, calling the dogcatcher was out of the question because these people love their dogs as much as I love my Precious cat.

As the manager here is one of the ones guilty of allowing her dog to run loose, though I didn’t believe it was her dog who did it. I decided to email the owner of the park, who lives in California. Big mistake. He sent the email to my manager and all (blank) broke loose.

She came over here, angry as all get out. She said some words to me and I was simply miserable, wondering if I would get evicted and where would I go.

All this time, it never occurred to me to just keep Precious inside. I always lived in the country where the dogs and cats all got along and lived in harmony, going in and out as they needed to. I also still think that a dog shouldn’t be allowed to attack a cat but now I am not sure if it was a dog that attacked her. I do know I overreacted out of anger.

Precious got better but I got worse. She didn’t like staying inside but after a few days, it wasn’t so hard. I began to worry and would go check my mail after dark, not wanted to run into any of my neighbors, many who own dogs.

Then yesterday, the old proverbial light bulb went off. I had never given this problem to God because I thought since I got myself into it, I was the one who had to somehow remedy the situation. I was doing this by avoiding it altogether. I decided to let Him do His job. I asked Him to take this and do as He willed. I knew He would never put any more on me than I could handle and if I had to move, then so be it. Then I truly let it go and stopped worrying about it.

I woke up early this morning feeling much better about everything. It was the day I pay my lot rent and pay my dues. I somehow knew it was time to eat some crow. I’ve done that many times in my life and it still tastes nasty but we do what we must in order to make this world a more peaceful place to live. I knew I had to write my manager a letter of apology.

I found a nice blank card and wrote my apology and placed that along with my rent check into the envelope. I said a silent prayer that she would accept it. She did. Within an hour she had called and said she forgave me for the things I said and I vowed never to do that again. I should have simply gone and talked to her. She’s a really nice, understanding lady. I feel very blessed that she forgave me.

The lesson I learned here is God wants to be in all that we do, good or bad. When I find myself letting Him out of my life, things go haywire. Then I want to take control and do it my way, which always makes things worse. Also, it doesn’t hurt any of us to admit when we are wrong and just eat a little crow and go on with life as it should be. In God’s world, all is forgiven.

Sharlett F. Hunt Sharlette863@aol.com]