I have two anniversaries in the next 10 days. One is a sad one and the other is happy one.

Today marks the first anniversary of the day my beloved Lucy crossed the rainbow bridge at 17 years of age, taking a piece of my heart with her. Part of me still wonders if I missed a symptom or a clue that could have at least prolonged her life if not saved it.

It feels like she slipped away from me so fast. From the fateful day I took her to the vet, she lasted 6 more days. Still, I’d take all of those 17 years over again, even the hard days if it meant I got the good days again.

Maybe one day they’ll figure out a way to clone her. Until then, I look forward to my happy anniversary where I was rescued by a cute little tortie that came to be known as Peanut.

I think I’ll save all the details for June 30, but I can assuredly add that she is not Lucy Part II or a copy of any other cat. She is Peanut and she is like nobody else and nobody else is like her.

While you can never replace a pet, you can move toward finding healing for your heart when you rescue another pet. I’m of the preference that it’s better to adopt from a shelter rather than buying from a breeder because you’re not only getting a great pet, but you’re also saving a life in the process.

I suppose this side of heaven is a continuous mix of joy and sorrow, happiness and sadness. This world is a beautiful but broken place that one day Jesus will redeem and restore. I look forward to the day when there are no more tears and only joy.

I hesitate to even write about this, because quite frankly it’s a bit embarrassing. I have attempted and failed to reattach my rear view mirror to my Jeep. Twice.

My feelings of masculine adequacy have taken a hit, as well as my own assessment of my handyman skills. I might as well just go ahead and burn that man card now.

I’m ready at this point to pay someone to put the #*&% thing on. I don’t care. I just want to look behind me when I’m driving without having to do a full-on Linda Blair Exorcist head twist. You really don’t appreciate little things like rear view mirrors until they’re not there (or sitting in the passenger seat of your car).

Still, if that’s the worst thing that happened to me all week, I’m doing okay. Actually, more than merely okay. I’m good.

And you know what? Life without a rear view mirror is doable. Inconvenient but doable.

As a reminder, I pass along what my boss at my old job used to say that any day without a toe tag is a good day.

Today, I agree.

I don’t know that I’ll do justice to tonight’s Kairos theme. I’m still trying to process it myself, and that could take a few more days. Basically, it was a Q&A between Chris Brooks and the Brentwood Baptist Church Minister of Pastoral Care, Ken Corr.

I suppose my takeaway is that if you’re walking with someone going through anxiety or depression, your job isn’t to analyze or judge or assess or otherwise try to fix them. Your job is to be a friend, to love them, and to help get them to the kind of help they need from people who are licensed and trained to deal with specific kinds of anxiety or depression.

If you suspect that someone you know may be suicidal, you can ask them one question: “Are you thinking of harming yourself?”

Your job isn’t to try to talk someone out of taking their own life. Your job is to get them to the kind of help they need, even if that means getting the police involved. It’s better to have a friend who’s made at you and alive than a friend who you were the last person to talk to.

I don’t pretend to understand the mindset of that kind of depression. I’ve never been to that place. I know that it’s not something that you can simply wish away or pray away. Sometimes, it’s a matter of a chemical imbalance. Sometimes, you need counseling and medication. As much as I believe God heals, I also believe He works through the hands of psychiatrists and counselors.

The one takeaway for you is that you should know that you’re not in it alone. There are people who can help. There are people who have been where you are. The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.

“The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior ‘righteous indignation’ — this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats” (Aldous Huxley).

These days, people who hold opposing political views are fair game for any kind of name-calling and stereotyping. Obviously, they cant’t just be wrong, but they must also be ignorant and evil.

True children of Abba will never stoop to slandering the opposition. They know that all people, not just the ones on “their side” who think like they do, are made in the image of God and have dignity and worth.

Furthermore, it does no good to demonize those who disagree with you. It may be emotionally satisfying for a season and may make you feel morally superior for a time, but in the end it changes nothing and serves only to strengthen those who already agreed with you in the first place.

To seek to understand is far better than to seek to undermine. Abba’s children will always seek to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them as Jesus taught and demonstrated. They know that there are no political answers to spiritual problems.

There’s my obligatory soapbox post for the time being. We’ll go back to posts about omelets, kittens, and rainbows next time around.

I think the older I get, the less I’m able to tolerate heat. Not that I was ever a big fan of 90+ degree weather. I tend to wilt more on hot and humid days than I used to.

Plus I sweat a lot, which is not pleasant for anyone.

I’m looking at a whole week of 90+ highs and it’s not even officially summer. That’s June 21, also known as the longest day of the year.

In the mean time, I get to enjoy my favorite summer outdoor past-time, which is going back inside where the A/C is.

Seriously, I love A/C. Right now, I’d put it up there as one of the greatest inventions ever. Screw the ozone layer and the environment. Just keep that beautiful cold air flowing at me and I’ll be as happy as a pig in the mud or a cat in a sea of tuna.

How many days until the official start of fall?

Two years ago, I took Lucy to the vet over concerns that she had been losing weight. She got a clean bill of health and all was well. She was a healthy, happy 16 year old cat.

One year ago, I was still in shock over a devastating visit to the same vet where I was told that Lucy was severely jaundiced and probably not going to live much longer than a few days or a few weeks. I watched helplessly as she was wasting away before my very eyes. It turns out that she lived another 6 days after her diagnosis.

Today, I visited the spot of earth where she is buried. It didn’t make me cry, but it made me a little sad. As much as I love and cherish my new cat Peanut, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of Lucy and miss her. There isn’t a day where my heart doesn’t ache a little.

Sometimes, I wonder if I missed something. Maybe if I’d paid a little more attention I might have caught something that could have saved her or at least given her more time.

Tonight, I’m choosing to count my blessings and be thankful for the 17 wonderful years that made saying goodbye so very hard. She might not have been the perfect cat — she did have her eccentricities and a bit of a temper– but she was the perfect cat for me when I needed her.

Now she lives on in my Facebook and Instagram posts, my photos, and most of all, in my memories. There are still stories, most of them happy and a few of them hilarious, that I keep for whenever I start to forget. I will pass on the love she gave me to Peanut, then the next cat (or dog) and so on. Hopefully, the legacy will live on for as long as I live.

Yes, I’m glad it’s Friday. And I’m thankful that grace still exists (and it’s still free).

“Our prayers for guidance (or for anything else) really begin here: I trust him. This requires abandonment. We are no longer saying, ‘If I trust him, he’ll give me such and such,’ but ‘I trust him. Let him give me or withhold from me what he chooses.” (Elisabeth Elliot, God’s Guidance: A Slow & Certain Light)

I can’t say that the week so far has turned out like I wanted or expected, but it has given me some highlights and memories.

Tonight, I had some Buffalo Chicken Pizza from Pieology that set my mouth on fire. When I took a bite, I think I quoted Paris Hilton– “That’s hot!”

I also took in another fantastic concert. So far, I’m batting 4-for-4 when it comes to hearing good music and good venues. It’s been Eric Johnson, Mary Chapin Carpenter, U2, and– as of this evening– Rodney Crowell.

Work got a little hectic, but I managed to persevere through it with only minimal grumbling and complaining. I have to sometimes remind myself of what it was like when I was unemployed in order to reorient my attitude.

I’m closing in on 338,000 miles in the Red Sled, also known as the Jeep That Just Won’t Quit. I very much doubt I’ll ever have another vehicle that will be that sturdy and dependable. Maybe a little newer and trendier but not nearly as lasting.

To sum it all up, life is good, God is great, and I’m still blessed.