Thanks to the huge response on helping to get our Children's Book
Published.  We received over 100 responses and each either had a
suggestion or just a Good Luck and it really meant a lot.  I tried to
respond to each of you and personally Thank everyone but if I missed
anyone, don't think that myself and my wife didn't appreciate every one
of the emails.
 
This outflow of support really makes us happy and helps with our one year
anniversary of our beloved Forrest's passing on July 17th, 2003.  My wife
still struggles with Forrst no longer being with us and his short little
life touching us so much.
 
Let me tell you a story about what my wife recently told me but let me
take you back a little and start from a year ago.
 
When Forrest past away it was pretty much the straw that broke the camels
back.  We both fell into deep depression and almost couldn't function in
everyday life due to this tragedy.  Lucy, our other Ferret, and Hogan,
our puppy, felt this hard as well and wasn't theirselves.  Lacy and I had
had some really tough times up to this point and it seemed like God was
punishing us or we even thought at points if there was a God.  Our faith
was at the lowest.
 
With almost a year passing we cried weekly about Forrest and his death.
But my wife woke up one morning and said that she had a dream that she
wanted to share with me.
 
She said that God came to her in a dream and said that he took Forrest in
a short life do to the fact that later down the road Forrest would have
had a skin illness that we would not have been able to touch or hold
Forrest and it would have hurt him more.  He was such a happy Ferret and
never slept becuase he lived more in his short life than most ferrets do
in their lifetime.  He would have suffered and it would have not been an
experience that he would have liked nor we would either.  But more than
that, God said to her that we were stronger than Forrest and took him so
that he would not have to suffer later.
 
I could not have handled that and I thank God that he was taken from us
even though he was only with us such a short time.
 
With that being said: Hug you family members, each of them, and remember
that they could be taken at any time.  Also, don't lose your faith
because of tragedy's that have happened in your life because there are
reasons for those tragedy's happening.
 
Sorry if this isn't written perfectly but I'm having trouble even typing
this with the emotion.
 
Thanks again for all your support and I will contact everyone soon should
Forrest the Ferret books be published and HE LIVES FOREVER and touches
your life as he touched ours.
 
Travis Chivers
[Posted in FML issue 4578]