Tuesday, September 28, 2010

the resurrection of jackie sweeter

we Christians do not all have the exact same beliefs.  even the apostle
paul acknowledged that there are so many differences in the church,
we should just agree on Christ's resurrection and not worry about the
rest.



believe it or not, i have a resurrection story that involves our youngest
daughter's hamster, the venerable jackie sweeter.  she  loved that little
guy to death, literally.  he was stone cold dead, on his back, feet in the
air.



until he hopped back up and got back inside that maniacal wheel.
you might call it his wheel of fortune.





unfortunately, a few days later he died again, permanently, and seven
year old hailey was broken hearted.  she wrote a lovely funeral program
including a moving tribute to both his lives and deaths.

as you might imagine, she was very reluctant to let us bury him.

love,
lea

"listen, i tell you a mystery:  we will not all sleep, but we will all be
changed."  1 corinthians 15:51

33 comments:

Dawn said...

You are such a good mom. Around here, we have no "bedroom pets." No hamsters, no fishies, no lizards, no turtles. The only tanks in our kids bedrooms I want are THINK tanks, and they don't seem to be mustering up any of those lately.

Sorry to hear about your daughter's loss.

Lisa said...

Well. He did have a reprieve... no matter how short.:)

A Tale of Two Cities said...

This sweet story reminded me of how my dad tried to "revive" my sister's hamster by putting him a barely warm oven with the door open. I don't know why, now that I'm older, that he thought that might work, but he was just a daddy trying to "fix" a little girl's broken heart.

Haven't thought of that story for a long time....
Debi

Brynwood Needleworks said...

Thank you for sharing this sad, sweet story. I especially loved the verse.
Blessings,
xoxo
Donna

Single and Sane said...

I can see where she had a hard time believing the 2nd death was real...were his feet in the air that time, too?

Farm Girl said...

That is so sad, and so sweet. Do you think maybe God brought the hamster back to life, because Haley wasn't ready for him to go? That happened to me once when I was a kid only it was a kitten. Stiff and dead, and cold. I put it in a old metal trash can and as the sun warmed the trash can, later I heard a kitten crying and it was alive. I was young but I think about it and wonder was it really dead?
Nice story. I love the name Jackie Sweeter.

Sandy said...

Well, this is certainly a good
way (albeit sad) for you to help
your daughter understand about
Jesus' death and resurrection.
She sounds adorable. I hope she
gets to love another hamster
real soon.
Hugs,
Sandy

highheeledlife said...

Oh my dear .. how awful for Hailey.. I hope she is feeling better. HHL

Jodie | Velour said...

His Wheel of Fortune! Ha! I just know I would enjoy the heck out of your company! You're so much fun!

Jackie Sweeter is a great name! No wonder it popped back into action...probably just to live a few more days with such an awesome name.

I can understand her hesitation with the burial. I mean, he did spring into life that one time... I mean, if it was my 7 year old, he'd probably insist that it just needed more time! Kids are so sweet. :)

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

Oh my daughter has so many of those stories with her pets.
But isn't the Good News wonderful!!!

Texas Fight....well I hope they do this year...I think both of our teams are in the building years...but I will be watching anyway!!! The Cotton Bowl and State Fair!!!

Southern Lady said...

What a sweet story! Carla

Skeeter said...

I am sorry for your daughter’s loss. I believe in the Rainbow Bridge. That is where all of my past animals have gone. As a child I buried all dead animals in my life. I pity the person that tries to dig a garden in my animal cemetery! They will freak at all the squirrels, birds, fish, hamsters, etc. I have buried in that area!

Rainbow Bridge http://www.indigo.org/rainbowbridge_ver2.html

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

Just had to give an OU fan a hard time...well with five boys, and a husband from UT do you think I could ever get by without following football???..then I live in the Dallas area...oh, my...this girly, girly was taken over by the male hormones in this house...and they hold the remote!!

You might be right this year...we might be going down...but no one ever knows on the Red River Shoot Out!!

Have a good week! Thanks for the fun!!!
Oh, you can comment back through my email if you don't want to go to my blog comments..either way is fine with me!!

Dawn said...

oh my gosh, lee. Thank you so much for your verse from the Psalms (for me). It was the very word of encouragement I needed to hear at the very moment that I discovered your comment. God's word is bread of life, and you are a faithful servant.

Be blessed today.

tina said...

How wonderful that he came back to life. What a sweetie but so sad for Hailey when he died.

Anita Diaz said...

I love how you tell a story Lea, and this one had me laughing and crying! Happy and then sad. Bless her heart:-) Thanks for your prayers:-)

Vickie said...

A good life lesson here about resurrection! We've had all kinds of bedroom pets around our house - including snakes. None of ours ever "resurrected" tho.

Very sweet story! Thanks for sharing. I love how Haley had a funeral - we did that, too. And it's good for kiddos to go through those motions and the finality. Thank God we have a plan for Resurrection!!

Jodie | Velour said...

I wanted to come back and say thank you for your recent encouragement in the homeschool department. I really appreciate your words.

Also, I answered your question. But you'll have to be the judge of whether or not I answered it correctly. :)
http://velourblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/sunday-six-nuen.html

Let me know. :)

myletterstoemily said...

jodie,

you are such a hoot! i have no idea
what the answer to that question is!

i can't believe you researched it.

Stella said...

It is always hard to lose someone we love. I am sorry Haley had to learn it so soon. But time heals and memories are left.

Rachel said...

Oh, is it terrible that I had to stiffle a giggle at a couple of moments?

I love that he had a second chance to take a few more trips around the wheel.

Terrific!

http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/ said...

I told someone recently, maybe it was you.. I hope not. We had guinea pigs too, squeaky 1, skeaky 2, and then finally when 1 and 2 died... squeaky 3. None of them made it and we did bury them, probably with a small graveside service also... part of our memories, and Hailey's also... seems almost sweet now, but not then!! :)

Susan B said...

Hi Lea,
What a sweet (and sad) little story. I'm sure your daughter was heart broken...poor thing. It's interesting that the hamster actually revied for a short time...

Thanks for sharing.

Vee said...

Yes, even poor Lazarus had to die all over again... Such big lessons for a little girl...for all of us little girls.

myletterstoemily said...

rachel! thank you. this was SUPPOSED
to be funny!

http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/ said...

yikes!... I quickly went back and altered it to the 'aspiring' Proverbs 31 woman... :)

myletterstoemily said...

sonja, thanks for the wiggle room!

Jo said...

Aw.... I know that was not supposed to make me chuckle, but it did. Poor little fellow. I certainly hope there won't be a third time...!

I Love Pretty Little Things said...

Aaaaahhhh... what a story! And, I love the verse!

Thank you so much for your heart-felt and compassionate message on my blog about my Mom's passing. It meant so much to me.
I am so thankful for the hope that we have in Christ, for that promise of being united with Him and reunited with those that we love so much!
Love, Joyce

trish said...

Oh bless her heart. I am so sorry for her loss. I can certainly imagine her hesitation of burying the little guy.
You are correct, there are any number of topics that could split the closest of hearts, if allowed. We need to keep our eyes and hearts on Him alone and walk as He would have us to. :o)
Have a wonderful day.
Sincerely - Trish
ps. Thank you for your kind words regarding my mom. They touched my heart. :o)

Tina L. Hook said...

Great verse. Maybe we all get second chances.

Joan Elizabeth said...

This post gave me such a giggle. especially the photos ... what joy there must have been at that resurrection ... but how hard to face the unfortunate death that followed.

Sixty-Fifth Avenue said...

Oh, hamsters, I had a few when I was little. So sad for your little one...twice!