Galatians 5:25 says, “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” As I turn my attention to God, I can trust that He is constantly moving within and alongside me. He cares about the details of our lives.
When we found out our dog Archie had cancer with 2 months to live, I was a little confused about how to handle the news. He was my first dog. I told God about it, and asked Him to lead us.
The next two months were fine and pretty much the same until his last week. His health was going downhill, and the veterinarian told us that when his quality of life was bad, we might want to consider putting him to sleep. Again, I brought the situation to God, and asked Him to lead our next steps. Trusting He was leading us, it made sense to call the vet’s office, and we made an appointment for 2 days from then at 11:00am.
At 10:45am that morning, I picked up our dog and laid him in the front seat of our car. My daughters were in the backseat, and as we drove, I told Archie about how great heaven is going to be, and that when he gets there, my loved ones will take care of him, and he can play with all the sweet children I love who are there. He won’t be in pain, and it was going to be okay, and we were going to miss him. I looked over at Archie while I was driving, and I noticed he wasn’t moving. He had died on our drive to the vet.
I’m not going to pretend to understand why this happened the way it did. All Matt and I could feel was God’s kindness to allow Archie to die naturally at that time. I cried in gratitude of God’s love and gentleness to us, that we got to say goodbye the way we did. God showed Himself in an unmistakeable way, and we are so grateful that He cares about the details of our lives.
Father God, you make all things beautiful. I want to do everything with you. I invite you to always be with me, guiding my steps. Make me always attune to your Spirit, always aware of your presence and how to follow your lead. I am so glad Archie is at peace with you now. Thank you, you are so good and kind, I love you. Amen.
My Heart, My Home 