Of Love and Loss

Today around noon, my sweet old yellow lab, Bonnie, passed away. This is a day I've been dreading for a while as I watched her grow older and weaker and watched her warm brown eyes cloud up. I remember when my family first adopted her. she had been abused by her previous owners and she was shy and skiddish, flinching at everything we did. Once she gained our trust, she was the sweetest, most affectionate dog anyone could ever ask for. I'll miss her dearly.

My dear sweet Puppy dog.

Isn't it amazing how even in times like this, God still makes Himself known and evident? Even amongst tears, I felt the hand of God against my heart, giving me peace. Even in loss, even in our darkest, hardest moments, God is there helping us fight through it. And to help us overcome our situation. We may never forget our sorrow, but God promises comfort and His peace to the broken-hearted.

" Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Loss is something everyone has experienced at one time or another. Maybe  your loss looks like a loved one passing. an opportunity missed. A word regretted. A situation you can't forget. Someone who robbed you of something precious. The sin that shackles you.

Loss comes in all forms. But no matter what your loss, our Lord promises us to be there in the midst of our hurt, our sorrow, our pain. 

I've heard it said that how we deal with our grief reveals our true character. If we truly trust in the Lord, we will not be afraid to hand the situation to Him. We may be upset beyond words. We may be angry at God. But if we still truly believe and have undying faith in Him, He'll take the situation . He can overcome!

Whatever your loss may be or whatever it may look like, our Savior is greater than our pain could ever be! Praise the Lord! Even when bad things happen, Life is still filled with beautiful things. Remember that even when the situation is hard, life is still beautiful. I encourage you to take your pain and turn it into praise! In the midst of our pain, it takes true spiritual strength to see beauty in the pain. Life in the suffering. Strength in the tears.

"Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself." - Walter Anderson