While we look toward each new year with hope we often tell the old year good-bye with a sigh of relief. I think 2018 will fall into the good-bye and good riddance for many of us.

I went up to Tulsa to enjoy Christmas with my son and his family on Christmas Eve. Had a great time with them and went to a special Christmas Eve service at Southern Hills Baptist Church there in Tulsa. A Christmas Program was led by the well known music performer Josh Wilson. Later we met with a large batch of mostly Bullards at the “Bread and Butter Restaurant” for yet another Christmas celebration. We spent the night at son Steven’s house with Courtney, Francesca and Charlotte who were looking for Santa. And sure enough, he showed up and the little girls received their “Santa” gifts sometime during the night. They must have been very good as it looked like it paid off for them.

I don’t have a dog or a cat at this point in my life and don’t actually plan on getting one but I do enjoy getting to know my extended family’s pets. A lady told me a good cat story while I was up in Tulsa. She remembered that when she was just a kid at home her family had a cat. Her little brother, age 8, took a great liking for the cat, which they thought was a girl cat. But it turned out it was a boy cat. Nevertheless, the little guy loved this cat and over time it became his cat and he took care of him.

The cat’s name was Pinky. He was a pretty cat with a lot of colors but wasn’t actually pink. But the gender nor color has much to do with this story. Pinky turned up missing one Sunday morning and everyone wondered where he was. He was faithful about being around when called. But not this Sunday morning. The mother of the house saw a ghastly sight out by the side of the road. Pinky lay there still. Dead. She didn’t think she could deal with the problem before church so elected to remove the body and deal with this after church. Which she did.

The little boy, sure enough, took the death of his cat Pinky hard. Mom and the sister took great care and placed Pinky in an appropriate box and then they carried him out to a field they owned, said some nice things while trying in vain to comfort the little boy who was crying his eyes out. They were all saddened to be without the cat. The boy flung himself over the grave and through his sobs he beseeched God to raise Pinky from the dead and continued his prayers about Pinky and his resurrection all the way home. He then called all his friends and tried to create a prayer chain for Pinky’s restoration to life. He also called his church friends and his teachers asking for prayers. All said they would pray.

The next morning everyone woke up with Pinky on their mind. But when the mom opened the door to fetch the daily paper she was more than surprised when Pinky came trotting in, hale and hearty. The esthetic boy could only say to them that he knew that God would raise Pinky from the dead. Meanwhile, Mom saw her neighbor and her kids walking around out by the road.

Wait! You’re getting ahead of me. Yes. They had a cat that was kin to and looked just like Pinky. Their cat had been reportedly run over but they couldn’t find the body. But yes, the little boy insisted that Pinky had indeed been raised from the dead and still believes so. The mom assured her neighbor that their cat had received a very good funeral and requested they just let go at that. They did.

I just wanted to share this hopeful story with my readers. There’s always hope. Nearly always. Have a Happy New Year and be sure and go to Church Sunday.

Wayne Bullard, DPh

waynebullard@sbcglobal.net