Cleaning a rabbit’s skin requires extra ordinary gentleness. The skin of a rabbit tears like paper – so grooming Greta each morning is a labor of love and a rehearsal of patience.
Greta can’t lift her back end up due to spinal stenosis. Because she can’t lift her haunches, urine spills onto her skin. As this happens throughout the day, urine scalds her skin. So each morning I put her on my lap (Greta is a 13.5 pound Flemish Giant, so she takes up more than my lap!) and start to soak and clean her.
It is a very slow process. Soak, wipe, comb, spray… ever so gently so as not to tear her delicate skin. The last thing I do is apply A&D ointment to all of her sore places.
Greta lays contentedly across my lap – and while I am grooming her, she starts to lick my leg and arm. She is grooming me. THIS is a big deal. She is demonstrating trust and care by choosing to groom me. My gracious Lord, thank you for showing beauty even in illness!
Greta is taking care of me while I am caring for her. It is a dance of love and grace. Greta shows me the “one another” scriptures – so many lessons of how we are to treat our family in Christ.
“Love one another..” John 13:34-35, “Encourage one another…” Heb. 3:13,
“Be patient with one another.” Eph. 4:2
“Bear one another’s burdens” Gal. 6:2
“Forgive one another…” Eph.4:32
The “one another’s” are our family of believers. What can we do for “one another” today that would fill another soul?
Lord give us a heart to see opportunities to encourage and lift up. And give us the courage and conviction to follow through!
“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:11
