Bill Hooper: Saying Goodbye

The theme of the Lenten Blog is "Trust in God" which may be more easily said than done. Barbara, Joan and I recently had an opportunity to place our trust in God's plan for us.

Our Family had a Siberian Husky named Shamrock, a gentle giant who loved to take walks and never, never missed a meal or snack. He had been rescued more than four years ago but now, at age 14, found life a struggle. God intervened, made us more aware of Shamrock's needs and guided us through the decision to end Shamrock's life. Simply put, we had to trust our hearts.

What might have been an emotionally devastating day turned into a spiritually uplifting event. The Knitting Ministry and other congregants became involved in Shamrock's last days by providing a Prayer Shawl and heartfelt wishes of support. Rev. Thea agreed to offer a special blessing on Shamrock's last day. The beauty of God's plan quickly became evident when we wrapped Shamrock in the Prayer Shawl while Rev. Thea spoke the blessing for our faithful animal companion and for ourselves as good stewards of God's creatures.

We continued on to the Animal Hospital where the staff greeted us with kindness and compassion understanding the difficult decision we were undertaking. They did not know how much easier the decision was once we placed our trust in God. Again, we wrapped Shamrock in the Prayer Shawl and held him to help calm his fears while the medicine was administered. God took him quickly and quietly. The staff withdrew to give us the time we needed to grieve the loss of a loyal dog. When we were done, we symbolically covered Shamrock with the Shawl to return him to God's Domain.

The day ended with each of us remembering our animal friend's life and last day. The day also ended with joy in our hearts knowing we had placed our trust in God and He had rewarded our trust by making us comfortable with the one decision beneficial for Shamrock.

Later that day a phrase from a song I heard years ago crossed my mind. It seemed to reaffirm our need to trust in God: "Don't let the light go out. Let it shine through our love and our tears."

Thanks be to God for all of His creation.