Have you ever been praising God for His protection only to have tragedy strike soon after? From praise to tragedy can be a severe trial.

There will be a video reenactment at the bottom of this post.

Praising God for Protection

It was May 31,  2013, when I made my way to the mossy rock to pray. Trigger and Heshe followed me. Heshe was happy to leave her month-old kittens, to take a break from nursing them. (If you missed the story about her giving birth, you can read it at this link https://healthyhomesteadingadventures.com/heshe-got-pregnant/  I put down a blanket and took off my shoes so my feet would be comfortable while I prayed. Being safe from predators and free in nature was a reason to be happy. So, I began to praise God for His protection from the bears and mountain lions. I never expected that my morning would go from praise to tragedy.

A Gun for Protection

Before even moving to our homestead, my husband insisted that we needed to have a rifle and a handgun for protection from the bears and mountain lions. I thought that I wouldn’t want to shoot a bear or mountain lion, but I didn’t want to be eaten either. So, we bought the two weapons. I liked to go pray at the moss-covered bedrock that came up out of the river and made its way up the mountainside. My husband convinced me to take the handgun. It was heavy and I hated it. I finally decided to trust God for my protection.

Unexpected Danger

While I was praying, I noticed that Trigger sensed danger and took off along the creek toward the house. Heshe was sitting on a rock about two feet off the ground. I looked up the steep embankment to see why Trigger left. There was nothing. Then, it appeared. It was a Great Pyrenees female that belonged to my nearest neighbor. She must have gotten loose and was out for a stroll. She had a friendly smile on her face and I had no fear of her.

The huge white dog made its way toward Heshe. Unfortunately, I still didn’t sense any danger. The Great Pyrenees are used to guard flocks and this dog was smiling all the way over to Heshe. Suddenly, Heshe sensed her danger and took off running along the trail to the house. Sadly, it didn’t occur to her to run up a tree.

From Praise to Tragedy

Immediately, I was screaming at the dog. If you will remember, I didn’t have my shoes on and had to quickly put them on. It seemed to take forever, and then I ran after them screaming at the dog to leave her alone. When I caught up to them, the vicious dog had Heshe around the middle and was shaking her. (This is hard to write even now.) I was screaming hysterically.

As I arrived on the scene, the dog dropped Heshe and started to run. My husband was inside the house, and when he heard me screaming, he grabbed the rifle and came running. He shot at the dog and fortunately, he missed. Admittedly, the dog was being a dog and I didn’t want it killed.

I picked up Heshe and cradled her in my arms. My daughter Ivana had come running too. Heshe was her cat that she had raised as a tiny kitten. Sadly, she had to watch this terrible tragedy of her precious cat dying in my arms. We cried and cried.

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Why did  Praise to Tragedy Happen?

I couldn’t understand why God would let this tragedy happen in the midst of my praise. I made the mistake of telling my family what I had been praying about. Now, everyone was doubting God. I wondered if it was caused by something in my life that was not right with God. Could it have been my daughter or my husband as head of the household that removed God’s protection? I have since realized that we are in a war and God allows Satan to test our faith to the utmost.

Though He Slays Me

The response to these tests by the stony ground heart will be resentment and bitterness towards God and whatever caused the tragedy. My daughter was already distant from God. This could have been her breaking point. She hated the dog and the neighbor that owned her. Tragically, she came to believe that there is no God.

I remembered the story of Job and joined him in saying, “Though He slays me, yet will I trust Him.” That also means that God may allow the loss of our pets, husband, and children without us resenting him. Bitterness will destroy our health and we must forgive with God’s help. Naturally, I chose to trust Him. 

From Tragedy to Tribute

My daughter loved her cat so much, that a year later, she made the above tribute to her on Instagram. Below, you can see a picture of Heshe and Pebbles. Pebbles grew to love her. I found a video of Pebbles licking her, but it was of poor quality. Trigger also loved her and she was his best friend. Sadly, he has never allowed himself to love again.

Heshe’s kittens were left without a mother and they were only one month old. In a coming blog post, I will cover what happened with them. Sadly, I haven’t been able to find any pictures of the kittens with their mother after the day that they were born.

Watch the Video Reenactment

I have never done a reenactment, but I thought that you might like to see where this all took place. Tigresa and Pantera came along with me and they got to give the feel of walking out in nature that day with Trigger and Heshe. If you can watch it on YouTube, be sure that you are logged in so that you can like and comment. Feel free to share this post and video with your friends. 

Read about Heshe’s arrival to our family. https://healthyhomesteadingadventures.com/introducing-the-cats-we-had-before-we-moved-to-our-homestead-part-2-heshe/

Read about Trigger’s arrival. https://healthyhomesteadingadventures.com/an-orange-tiger-arrives/