Hamshe

Hamshe? A female hamster. Caleb came up with the name. Get it, Mom? It's a hammmmm-ster and she is a she, so ham+she. This has been Caleb's pet since August. He loves this rodent named Hamshe!

Well last Wednesday we were about to begin homeschooling, and we were all sitting in Caleb's room playing with old Hamshe. We were talking about how she has been the best pet (and we have been through a lot). The kids had built sweet Hamshe a little house to play in and we were enjoying the sweetness of childhood and family and fun.

Until....Hamshe got a little quick and started walking off from our happy group. Caleb got up to retrieve her. And. Well he stepped on sweet Hamshe. Barefoot for all the sensory horror of that feeling. He screamed. I screamed. We all started crying.

I picked up the very flat and very dead hamster. I listened to the screams of "Mom do something. Save her!" I looked at this dead, squished little thing and said "Let me go to my room and get something and I'll see what I can do" (I was trying to escape for some thinking time) I carried the dead hamster to my room, closed the door, and called Beau who was in Virginia and I started crying again (I felt so bad for this lifeless little thing. I felt even worse for Caleb who just stepped on his pet and was screaming in the hall.) Well while I was on the phone with Beau I felt Hamshe's heart start beating again, though he still looked flat and very dead. And within a few minutes he started to regain shape but still looked so sad and pretty lifeless.

I hear mice and rats can do that...get flat so they can sneak into your house....nice feature I guess. I guess it saved Hamshe's life. I'm happy to report that she is still alive today.

And no, I did not do a switch with a new hamster from the pet store and I do not think anyone else did either??

Why do I share this Hamshe story? First, because inquiring minds keep asking how Hamshe is doing. Second, because we learned the truth of Matthew 10:29 (Aren't two sparrows sold for only a penny? Not even one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing it. God even counts every hair on your head!) Thirdly, to share how I prayed for Hamshe.

When I was in my room and she started to breathe....I prayed that God would have her die quickly. I hated to see her in pain, and I didn't want Caleb to watch her keep suffering. She was so flat and so dead....I never expected her to recover and live. I expected her to die, so I wanted her to die quickly. But there were other plans for her....and lessons for us to learn.

Now I know that this is just a hamster. And I know a hamster's life expectancy is not very long as it is. So I am trying not to read too much into this. But I learned something. I was reminded of a great truth. And this little creature reminded me of my big God.

Really I don't pray much for animals, especially hamsters. But the Lord has had an earful of my prayers this last year....begging, pleading with Him for my babies and for other big things. Yes He hears I believe. Big and small. And yes I believe He is a creative teacher, using all things to point us to Him and His love for us. Glad we didn't miss this horrible experience and the lessons we gained.

the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

Romans 8

we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit,

groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons,

the redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope we were saved.

But hope that is seen is no hope at all.

Who hopes for what he already has?

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,

because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.