Sunday, July 20, 2014

Time for Life and Time for Death

Yesterday was a day that the Lord made.  Any day that He makes, I will rejoice in.  But yesterday was also sad.  We had to say good-bye to our dear pet, Ringo.  He recently turned 12 and his life has been a blessing to us.  And full of many adventures.






Ringo was such a sweet, mellow black lab.  He got pretty sick this past week and as I sat with him on the kitchen floor one morning, I journaled about all the aspects of him that I was thankful for.  The list was long!  It included things like: his ever hopefulness that he might find some food, his Jedi-like ways of using the force to get a treat, his water slobbies all over the kitchen floor, his gentle nature with all children and creatures, how he would jump up on me during dance parties in our living room or while my husband and I would hug, his soft ears that he loved to have rubbed, and his wagging and thumping tail.  As I journaled and praised God for his life, I also asked for wisdom and discernment in our continued care of Ringo.

Earlier this week, I was reviewing some verses in Genesis.
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26-27

So I am made in God's image and his likeness.  And he has instructed me to rule over creatures.  Wow.  That's big.  And I'm little.  Just me.  But I know I am full of the Holy Spirit which guides me and I worship a God who is loving and grants wisdom to all who ask.  Ringo really struggled through his last night here on earth.  It was hard to witness each time I woke up and checked on him.  I knew when I woke up and saw him in the morning that it was time to let him go.  My husband knew immediately too.  As much as we loved Ringo, we did not want him to suffer and we know that God loves him more.  He granted us wisdom, discernment and compassion to know what choices to make in caring for Ringo.

We went with our children to the vet's office.  She said his lungs were failing.  His heartbeat was all over the place.  His legs and hind end were so weak due to poor blood flow.  He was suffering.  Even though when we went there, I knew he wouldn't be coming home with us, I was still a little hopeful that maybe she would give us different news.  Nope.  It was time to say good-bye.  They told us what would happen and she gave him a shot to relax him.  We spent time lying on the floor of the vet's office with him, petting him, crying over him, praying and thanking God for his life and the love that we experienced.  My husband and children then left and I stayed with him until the end.  It was peaceful.  When my husband I and prayed at bedtime, he thanked God for giving us peace.  I am assured that peace only comes from God.  And so does the strength to let go.  And the compassion and knowledge to know when.  

Saying good-bye and letting go of a person or animal that we love is hard.  Our hearts hurt.  I felt my own sadness and it was compounded by watching my husband and children in tears, also grieving the loss of Ringo in our lives.  Yet, I was able to rejoice over the life that Ringo lived!  He was a true gift in our lives and I'm thankful that we were able to allow God's heart to be in us today and that He used our hands and feet to take care of Ringo's life.  And to understand that death sometimes comes sooner than we are ready for.  God's timing is always perfect even when we don't understand.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 
a time to be born and a time to die....a time to weep and a time to laugh, 
a time to mourn and a time to dance...
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2a, 4