Things that make me feel better - lots of Bible verses and Constantine Maroulis falling down

I'm feeling a little better - I wish I was needed more at the lab, because it's hard to be in a kitty-less house all day when we're so used to having one underfoot. (And he was always underfoot - he was Mr. High Maintenance after he woke up from his nap(s). Gotta get in his 20 hours of sleep per day, you know, and then have 700 drinks out of the bathtub, and various things thrown for him to chase/jump at/watch fly by.) So Mom and I have just been driving around, wandering through the mall, and spending a lot of time with family. They aren't really animal lovers, but they love us and so when we hurt, they hurt too. They've really been a haven for us these past few days.

Other things that have been helpful:

The comments that you guys left on my two sad posts. Really. And the emails. *mwah*

My little God's Promises For Your Every Need book, which I think everyone should have a copy of. Over the years (or at least since I was about 16 and started having spells of crazy) I've shed a lot of anxious or sad tears of healing over the verses in these book, and the comfort that their truths bring.

Blessed by God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. II Corinthians 1:3-4

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. I Peter 5:6-7

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Isaiah 43:2

For we have not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4

I've also read the section on grief in Charles Stanley's Handbook for Christian Living a few times, and I really like the last paragraph:

Discussing each why in your heart and each feeling of dismay with the One who loves you and understands is the most healing thing you can do. This Friend will never say, "Snap out of it!" This Wonderful Counselor will listen to every feeling. He is not shocked by anger, even if it is directed toward Him. He understands every human emotion and is never tired of repetitive laments. He is unchanged through every changing emotion you experience. He understands your need to grieve better than you do, but He longs "that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Yesterday, Charles Stanley's sermon was on Walking With God Through The Dark Times - that God has a purpose for allowing darkness in our lives, that He is with us through them, and that we learn more in the darkness than in the light, which we can then share with others who are having difficulties later. Like the following, which I've seen a million times but that I love:

If you never felt pain,
Then how would you know that I am a Healer?

If you never had to pray,
How would you know that I am a Deliverer?

If you never had a trial,
How could you call yourself an overcomer?

If you never felt sadness,
How would you know that I am a Comforter?

If you never made a mistake,
How would you know that I am forgiving?

If you knew all,
How would you know that I will answer your questions?

If you never were in trouble,
How would you know that I will come to your rescue?

If you never were broken,
Then how would you know that I can make you whole?

If you never had a problem,
How would you know that I can solve them?

If you never had any suffering,
Then how would you know what I went through for you?

If you never went through the fire,
Then how would you become pure?

If I gave you all things,
How would you appreciate them?

If I never corrected you,
How would you know that I love you?

If you had all power,
Then how would you learn to depend on Me?

If your life was perfect,
Then what would you need Me for?

author unknown

God's promises to those who repent and follow Christ are so healing and comforting.

In addition, I work with a guy who makes me laugh. Laughing is always good.

And finally, I found a 30-second video clip at EJB dot com of Constantine Maroulis doing a kick, for no reason in particular, and then falling down. And oh my heck, that is funny.

Constantine falls down (please right-click and "save as", don't steal my precious bandwidth. The file is about 6.5MB)

Maybe, every day at 9:51PM, Constantine likes to kick at nothing, fall down, and then sing I Believe I Can Fly with a local news reporter. Who knows? He is a self-proclaimed thespian, after all, and therefore must be complicated beyond belief.

In conclusion, I think I'm going to be okay. Thanks again for the condolences, y'all. :-) Am I heartless for thinking of going to the local shelter for another kitty? Not to replace my sweetie Cinders, of course, but to try to fill the cat-sized hole in my heart and my house. And some of these guys are awfully cute.

Edited because I forgot to add this picture that I think is so sweet, which is in a brochure that we got from our vet about grieving over the death of a family pet:

But there's a quote from James Herriot below the picture (which follows a section on euthanasia) that says: "Like all vets I hated doing this, painless though it was, but to me there has always been a comfort in the knowledge that the last thing these helpless animals knew was the sound of a friendly voice and the touch of a gentle hand." What breaks my heart right in two is that our sweetie that we loved so - the last thing he knew was pain and fear. It would be so much easier to take if it hadn't happened that way, and I think that it will always break my heart to think of it. I hope the way we treated him for his too-short life makes up for the way it ended, at least a little bit.

I'm sorry to be such a downer lately - I'm just trying to work through this heartache.

One more edit - this morning, I was thinking of a song that we used to sing at church camp called Consider the Lilies, and it reminded me that God takes care of all of His creation, including the animals. It may sound stupid, but since the most heartbreaking thing about this situation is the pain and fear that we always tried to protect Cinders from - how do I know that God didn't somehow numb him so he didn't feel it? I know that sounds crazy, but it brings me some peace to know that something may have been done to protect Cinders from the pain and the fear. I don't know that that's true - but I do know that God looks after the animals - He says that He does. And I've always loved that song:

Consider the lilies, they don't toil nor spin
But there's not a king with more splendor than them
Consider the sparrows, they don't plant nor sow
But they're fed by the Master
Who watches them grow

We have a heavenly Father above
With eyes full of mercy
And a heart full of love
He really cares when your head is bowed low
Consider the lilies and then you will know

May I introduce you
To this Friend of mine
Who hangs out the stars
And tells the sun when to shine
And kisses the flowers
Each morning with dew
But He's not too busy to care about you!

We have a heavenly Father above
With eyes full of mercy
And a heart full of love
He really cares when your head is bowed low
Consider the lilies and then you will know

But I miss my little guy.