What My Puppy's Death Taught Me

Remember my first installment of "Weekend Wonders" where I talked about the puppies? Since then I have come to recognize, even more, the importance of always thanking God in the moment and loving those around us, taking no gift for granted.

Within a period of four days, my husband and I lost two of "our" puppies to Parvo (it seems). The dogs technically belonged to a neighbor, but we trained them, loved on them, and helped take care of them. They shared our front porch and greeted us at the gate. But they were not ours, and so we did not decide whether or not they went to the vet for their shots. And perhaps they would have become sick, regardless.

Staying up late into the night with the little puppy as she suffered, wheezed, and bled, I realized that my precious little Beanie was a picture of this world. She was a picture of our lives. An adorable, sweet, baby puppy was dying a painful death. In our world there is fleeting beauty and innocence, but it is vulnerable to sickness and will never survive on this side of heaven. 

In Keep a Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliot said, "…God has allowed in the lives of each of us some sort of loss, the withdrawal of something we valued, in order that we may learn to offer ourselves a little more willingly, to allow the touch of death on one more thing we clutched so tightly, and to know fullness and freedom and joy that much sooner. We're not naturally inclined to love God and seek His Kingdom. Trouble may help to incline us--that is, it may tip us over, put some pressure on us, lean us in the right direction."

On Sunday we said goodbye to some dear friends who are leaving the island--their kids are bundles of joy, and the husband and wife are good friends and examples to us. We really love them. 

Today I broke one of my favorite tea cups. It shattered all over the floor with the sharpest crash.

These are small losses. Believe me, I know. I have watched people bury their little children. I have watched people die of cancer. I have watched mothers become widows. 

But I have also watched God give new life and love to those who knew such grief.

There are bleak days and there are sunny days, but certain losses will always, in our hearts, penetrate both. Just remember that Jesus is with His children. And He is coming back. Let that hope and this world's pain lean you closer to Him. Of all the beauties in this life, He is the most beautiful.

Keep the Faith, 

Audrey Ann