was our betta fish.
We have not had good luck with bettas. After the first two, I decided we would not have any more. However, I forgot to inform my family. My brother and sister-in-law that happen to teach in the nursery for church, decided to give my son Joshua a betta for his birthday. (They had used it for the lesson on fish the week before.)
We had given all the fish equipment away, so we used a mason jar, bought a small jar of food and figured he wouldn’t make it long anyway. Joshua named him Ralph and then over time it became “Ralph the Rainbow”. He was over 4 months old when he died this morning. Jim Bob cleaned his water last night and our best guess is that the temperature was too cold.
I was doing just fine, explaining how the fish’s spirit was gone, when Joshua said, “But I will miss my fish”, broke into tears and collapsed on my lap. That was hard and all I could do was cry along with him.
It gave me better understanding of the scripture in John 11:35, “Jesus wept”, when he was mourning with Mary and Martha. Jesus mourned with those that mourned and comforted them. Another scripture, Mosiah 18:8-10 (in The Book of Mormon) talks about the covenants we make at baptism – this one in verse 9 stands out to me right now “Yea and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life…”
I give thanks for beautiful animals – and for beautiful children who love those animals.
We will all miss Ralph the Rainbow.
I guess I don’t get it… if you knew he would die and didn’t keep him in good conditions, why do you feel bad? bettas are amazing and can live foe years… a bigger tank or even bowl might have made him a happier guy.
For us, 4 months was forever old. Our others didn’t make it nearly that long – with all the special fuss and care. We did feed Ralph, he had a clean home, and lots of admirers. I don’t feel like a mason jar is a “poor” condition. I was just trying to show that sometimes the unexpected things make a big impact. We did not go out seeking Ralph and yet having the opportunity to take care of him was a wonderful experience. I was definitely in a place of hurt and sorrow when I wrote this blog post. And yes, four months later, I still miss Ralph.
Ralph was my fish.