In the wee hours of Tuesday morning I sat beside our much-loved 15 year old Akita as he passed from this life. With grief flooding my heart, I prayed that he was entering into a Heaven where God promises that “the wolf will live with the lamb.” Although scripture doesn’t specifically say it, I interpret that to mean that our beloved pets will be there too.
I know God loves the animals for He even knows when “a sparrow falls.” And I believe that only love could fashion the great variety of sizes, shapes, colors and mannerisms we see in the animals that inhabit our planet. Isaiah 11:6-9 goes to great length talking about the animals that live on God’s holy mountain together.
So in my grief, I choose to believe that in God’s mercy our Clyde will have joined our other departed pets in Heaven, and that he is now the whole and healthy, frisky, mischievous dog we loved. I only hope he and his dog friend Katie, who are now reunited, are not creating chaos in Heaven like they often did here on earth. But perhaps God merely smiles and laughs at the pandemonium they bring to Heaven as a fleeting part of Heaven’s joyful welcoming party. For I can see them now, Clyde and Katie running all over Heaven together, free to investigate every smell, bark at every sound, chase every squirrel, and swim in every muddy creek. Perhaps, since it’s Heaven, they won’t even get dirty.
In my pain, though, I shuffle about the house still halfway expecting to see the rambunctious friend who followed either me or my husband up and down the staircase and barked at every sound on the street. I long to see the wagging tail when we arrive home or when Clyde padded into the kitchen drawn by the scent of dinner on the stove. I yearn for those big black penetrating eyes that stared into ours with great anticipation whenever certain words like “walk or “go” or “ready” crossed our lips. I miss reaching out my hand to stroke the soft velvet of his ears and even miss the strong tugging of the leash as he pulled me down the street when we took him for a walk. He was the strong, handsome dude who strutted around the block, head and ears erect with thick, luxuriant tail curled over his back.
And I grieve for the loving dog that snuggled between us on the bed, using my leg for his pillow.
I miss him. I miss the joy he brought to our home.
But what brings me back? What helps me cope? What helps me move beyond this difficult moment to the new chapter that lies beyond?
I thank God for the years of joy Clyde brought to our lives. I thank God for being in control, for being a good and faithful God and that all things beautiful come from Him. I thank God that He has promised that weeping might last for the night but there is joy in the morning.
I thank God for love—for its wonder, mystery, and delight, knowing that God carves love and sorrow deep into our hearts, sometimes intertwined, to make room for a Love that is deeper and richer, a Love that will last forever, and the only Love truly wild and beautiful enough to fill the deep and lonely places in our hearts.
So while I continue to grieve for my handsome, smart and sometimes crazy dog, I thank God for His faithfulness in the past and His promises for the future. This hurting time will pass, and happy times will come again.
“The wolf will live with the lamb. The leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together, and the little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. And they will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the Earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:6-9
- Matt 10:29
- James 1:17 and Eccl 3:11
- Psalm 30:5
Speak Your Mind