Farewell to Our Family Pet

Today's post is the most difficult I have written since this blog started nearly six months ago. I promised that this would be a place where people can visit when they are searching for hope and I am keeping that promise despite the deep sadness I am feeling today.

If you have ever lost someone close to you, you know the feeling I am experiencing today. It brings me back to the time my father re-entered my life only to find out that he had an aggressive cancer that would limit his last visit to a mere thirty five days. As I looked into my father's eyes during our last conversation, I told him his work here was done and it was time to be with the Creator. That is the great hope, that one day our work here will be done and we can go to a special place that has been prepared for us. Is there any greater hope for us than to be with our Creator in a place where there is no sickness or pain?

When I looked into my father's eyes for the last time, it was so hard for me to tell him it was time to go. Deep down, there was this emptiness. I knew that I would see my father again in Heaven but I did not want to let go. Now it is time to say good-bye to our precious sheltie. Lady's body is shutting down and she is in pain. I sense that my dad is whistling for her. I see him with a bucket of tennis balls that he can throw in the greenest grass you can imagine and I see Lady having the time of her life. My dad has a new body now and he is in a place where cancer does not exist. He waits patiently for his beloved family to one day rejoin him. For now, I will send him our family's best friend. That is what hope is all about, keeping your eyes on Heaven, even when you have to let go of things on earth and knowing that one day the Creator will call your name.

Farewell, Lady. Follow the whistle. Yes, there is a better place for you. Thank you for the joy you brought my family. Tell my dad to save a couple of tennis balls for me. It is not my time yet, I must publish about the place where you are going so that the world can have hope. When I hear the whistle, I will see you again. Good-bye my friend...(R.I.P. 3/3/10)...