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Wednesday, May 29, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Scottie
Wisdom&Faith
Jean Russell Nave
Will my Scottie
dogs go to Heaven?
<If there are no dogs in
Heaven, then when I die I
want to go where they went.=
4 Will Rogers
If you have ever loved
and lost a Scottie or any
other pet you can undoubt-
edly understand Will Rogers9
quotation. The pain you felt
about the loss of that pet had
a foundation in the idea that
you didn9t expect to ever see
it again.
More than four years
ago I was given a diagnoses
of stage-four breast cancer.
While driving home after
that doctor9s appointment
all I could think about was
how terrible it would be for
my husband, my son, and my
Scotties if I couldn9t be there
to share their love and joy.
Fortunately, all three doc-
tors were wrong. The cancer
had not metastasized as they
thought. But that initial diag-
noses did change my life.
I9ve spent the years since
on a quest for a deeper under-
standing of God. I began
by going back to books I
loved when I was young
and searching for mean-
ing. Classics like <Mere
Christianity= by C.S. Lewis,
<The Prophet= by Kahlil
Gibran and, of course, the
Holy Bible became my daily
reading. I then added books
on near-death experiences,
reincarnation, and a host of
metaphysical and spiritual
topics.
The book <Life Before
Life= by Jim B. Tucker, M.D.
was an eye-opener. For more
than 40 years the University
of Virginia has been research-
ing over 4,000 cases of chil-
dren who spontaneously
began speaking about having
lived before. Many have
given specific names, places
and times of their before-life
experiences that have been
verified by the University9s
research. When I finished the
book I had a whole new per-
spective on life and death.
My Scotties mean the
world to me. As my faith in
a higher Spirit has deepened
and as I9ve learned more
about the wonders of the
unseen world, one thing has
begun to jell in my mind.
Our pets will be there in life-
after-life. How can that be
true? Pets have a spirit but
not a soul. Having a spirit
means they have God-given
life. We humans have a spirit
and a soul, which means we
have God-given eternal life.
From Egypt to China to
the Americas, horses, dogs
and cats have been found in
ancient graves. Clearly, we
are not the only people who
have loved our pets.
A close reading of many
of the sayings of Jesus Christ
tells me that we will even-
tually attain the height and
depth of spiritual learning
that He had and be able to
create miracles. That means
to me that somewhere, some-
time, somehow in life after
death each of us will have the
God-given capability to re-
materialize the spirits of our
lost pet friends. We will get
to drink up again that won-
derful unselfish love they
gave us here on earth.
Confirming this thought
is what some of the children
have said to Jim B. Tucker9s
researchers. Some have
remembered bits of the time
before they returned to earth,
and they remembered having
their pets in that heavenly
dimension.
Doesn9t it make sense?
Our pets are some of the most
unselfish, loving creatures
we know. If God is Love, our
pets9 love comes from Him.
A loving God must under-
stand the depth of our love
for our pets. Jesus reminded
us that His love is far greater
than ours. It makes sense,
then, that a loving God will
let us rejoin those loving spir-
its in another time and place.
I don9t know if I9m cor-
rect, but this is what my
search shows me. What do
you think?
PHOTO PROVIDED
East of the Cascades Quilters held a crafty retreat at Lake Creek Lodge.
Quilting guild enjoys retreat
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
<The community spirit
glowed at our retreat& The
projects were beautiful and
diverse,= said quilter Susan
DeGroat of the East of the
Cascades Quilters9 Guild,
as she described their recent
retreat at Lake Creek Lodge.
Cece Montgomery, who
had attended seven such
retreats while living in
California, enlisted the help
of DeGraot and Barbara
Bowman to organize the
May 14-16 retreat in Camp
Sherman.
<The best part of the
retreat for me was spending
time with so many talented
ladies, sewing, creating, and
eating. It was truly wonder-
ful to be able to get to know
them in such a small and fun
environment,= said Bowman,
who moved to Sisters a year
ago with her husband.
Bowman said she went to
one meeting of the EOC quil-
ters and <was hooked.= The
ladies were extremely wel-
coming, and she felt, <I had
found my place.=
DeGroat, who has been
an EOC member for about
a year, enjoyed many facets
of the retreat. When asked
what she enjoyed most, she
responded, <Developing
friendships. Learning and
being inspired by all the tal-
ented women. Three days
of laughter, and long walks
in nature! Sorry, but I can9t
just pick one. It was delight-
ful from the moment we
arrived!=
Everyone worked on their
own projects, from a wall
hanging as a gift for a rela-
tive, to a quilt for the quil-
ter9s own home, to a number
of Challenge Quilts for the
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show
in July.
<It was great to have
feedback from all of my new
friends,= said Bowman.
Montgomery was very
pleased with the response to
her retreat idea. <On the sec-
ond day when I was asked
when the next one would be,
I knew that I had succeeded.=
<Sisters is such a quilt-
ing community with lots of
classes and a wonderful shop,
The Stitchin9 Post,= said
Montgomery. <Having two
retreats a year is just icing on
the cake for us.=
Bowman added, <I9m
looking forward to more
quilting without all of our
daily interruptions and, of
course, just enjoying these
wonderful amazing women!=
The attendees all had
such fun that they brain-
stormed 31 suggestions for
future retreats. The next one
is scheduled for November
5-7 next fall at Lake Creek
Lodge, and plans are for two
retreats a year.
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