My fourteen year old dog died a few weeks ago. I see this on Facebook every day. Your family pet dies and you feel the need to post a picture saying goodbye to the best dog ever. That was exactly what I did, but not one photo, eighteen. Ok, it’s a dog, our family pet, not a human. But, when it happened to me, I realized this is an odd kind of grief. It’s not like when a person dies and we share the grieving process in a broader community. With a pet, the grief isn’t shared as much…it’s more private.
With every step in ridding my home of the remembrances of the dog, the grief broke over me again. Her passing represented an ending to an era of our lives. She was the dog we adopted after our youngest child was out of diapers and we could bear the thought of caring for a “baby” again. And over the years, she became a member of the family, a constant faithful presence and a sweet demonstration of unconditional love. But, I was almost embarrassed by my sadness. For heaven’s sake, there is much worse loss that could have happened, right? Nevertheless, I grieved like I lost a best friend.
We grieve any time we lose something or someone. Grief is part of the human experience. Separation from someone you love is painful. Though this sadness we feel at losing someone hurts, it also shows us something deeper about the universe…..We are not meant for goodbyes. God put eternity in the heart of every soul. That is why goodbye seems so wrong, because it is! This world is not permanent, but there is an eternal place and an eternal Person who loves us and made us to live with Him forever. Jesus. There is so much about this broken world that I don’t understand, but I know this one thing. God loves us and He gave His Son so that we may live with Him forever.
Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. (John 14:1-3)
Maribeth's Hope 