In Your Light

Strawberry Jam’s is one of them. She arrived from the shadows of an abattoir, a place of profound darkness where even the most basic of needs were denied. Born to a mother whose world was defined by fear, she missed that critical, life-sustaining window that only a mother’s first milk can provide. It was a deficit she carried in her very bones, a quiet vulnerability that shadowed every step she took toward the light.

And though she initially rallied against the odds, winning the hearts of everyone she met and claiming Pop Tart the lamb as her sister, her little body was carrying more than we knew. She battled joint ill and infections with a courage that far outweighed her tiny frame, but when the shadows returned, we knew the signs were grim.

She was rushed to the vet as we fought to tip the scales in her favour, but it seemed as though every time she surmounted one hurdle, another was already waiting. There is only so much a spirit can carry when the foundation was so fragile from the start.

We will sorely miss the tippy tappy sound of her dainty hooves, a rhythm of pure joy that seemed to defy her past. It was a sound that told us she was here, she was safe and she was loved. To cradle her in our arms was to feel an incredible warmth that reached far beyond the physical; it was the warmth of a life finally recognised and a spirit that refused to be dimmed.

In the end, as we debated what more we could possibly do to keep her here, Strawberry Jam took the decision from us. She chose to step out of the struggle and into the peace she so rightly deserved.

Though she was only with us for six joyous and beautiful days, they were days defined by kindness rather than the darkness she had known.

We shall never see a jar of strawberry jam in the same light again. It will no longer be just a name, but a reminder of a sweet, fuzzy friend who taught us that even the briefest of lives can leave the deepest glow.

And though we cannot cradle her in our arms now, we shall settle for cradling her in our hearts, knowing that somewhere, beyond the reach of fear and pain, she is finally basking in the light of her mumma.

Some lights are so bright that they never truly go out; they simply change where they shine.

Go softly, Strawberry Jam, and keep spreading your love.