Joy's surgery

Been a rather taxing week! Joy had her neutering operation on Tuesday, after which she decided to play the 'sick role' for the next two days. She behaved as if she could not really walk or stand and wanted food and water to be brought right up to her. And she looked really miserable and helpless.....Of course I was taken in a little at first and played to her tune. After all, 'poor girl she just had abdominal surgery'. But then i noticed that she could walk quite well - when I left her and went off to the kitchen with Sabbath she somehow managed to walk and stopped just outside the door to see what we were up to......Anyway, after i took off the gauze yesterday, she got back to her old self. And in fact today, we have to restrain her a bit worrying that too much movement (she's back to leaping about and teasing Sabbath) will affect the wound healing. Such are some dogs - very 'human' too in knowing when to get extra attention. I must say I felt a little sorry for myself too, as I caught the flu on Tuesday and was really not up to many things for the next couple of days, what more with a post op 'patient' to handle (a pity i couldn't 'play up' too!)

More seriously though, I am trying to spend some time praying with the Beatitudes during this Lent. Blessed are the 'poor in spirit....those who mourn, the meek, the peacemakers.....those who are persecuted for the truth....' certainly blessings that are paradoxical in the eyes of the world. I wonder what it truly means to be 'poor in spirit' and so on.....in our lives, in the reality of our situations. Up to now, I realize that blessedness for one thing is not so much about receiving tangible evidences of God's power- but of receiving spiritual blessings in the most unlikely places (especially where the tangible does not seem to happen, yet, anyway) and of sharing that spiritual blessing with others.