Dear new Friends,

Thank you so much for replying. I was crying when I logged in and it warmed my heart just to know that you understand. For the most part friends have been supportive. I have received cards and phone calls.
It makes such a difference. I am sure there are others that can't understand why I still carry on so.

I have had many, many blessings in my life. A nice home, good job and a stong faith in Christ. Emotionally though, it has been a hard one. I had been raised in a cult like religion and when I left in the early 80's I lost all my family and friends for leaving. I have been shunned for 20 years, and will never have my family back unless I was to return to this religion. I have learned how "conditional" love can truly be. Yet six years ago I finally got to know the true God. The God of love and the one who holds out salvation for those that love Him thru His son Jesus.

I was divorced last year from a husband who greatly deceived me, and Anna Mae came into my life and I learned so much from her. It restored my faith that there is such a thing as undconditional love. The kind of love that God has towards us. I understand it better now. I have had many pets in the past and loved them so much too............but something was so different with Anna Mae. The kind of love she showed has evaded me my whole life.

God knows when a mere sparrow falls. He loves all his creation. We cannot understand all the ways of God, but He asks us to trust Him to make all things right in the end. Even the apostle Paul said, that on this side he can only understand partial.... but after he is with God he will understand fully.

I can't help but reflect on the verse in 1Corinthians 2:9 that says:
"eyes have not seen
ears have not heard
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those
who love Him."

So if we can imagine things like "Rainbow Bridge"........and God promises even more joy than
we can imagine, we can have comfort in the scripture that says,
"For nothing is impossible with God."

I hope this brings some comfort for all the broken hearts in this group.

Psalm 34:18
"The Lord is close to brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Love to you all,
Golden

Dear Golden,

I am so sorry that you lost your sweet Anna Mae. You have such a beautiful heart to have taken in an older dog and giving her a loving home. I know how grateful she must be to you for that. I absolutely agree with you that the love they show us is just like God's love -unconditional. I am so happy that you have found some peace through your relationship with Him.

Last night I was feeling sad (just one of those days, you know) and when I feel that way I miss my Allie so dearly because she used to come sit beside me and comfort me. Although I have two dogs and a husband who are very loving, something will always be missing now that Allie is gone.

I turned to God in prayer and asked Him for some guidance in why I couldn't seem to accept the fact that she really is with Him now and hasn't just disappeared. I said, "God I feel like I'm still just an infant in my spiritual walk. Please give me faith." I picked up a little devotional book I have (you may have heard of it -it's called My Utmost for His Highest) and the page I flipped to read:

How Will I Know?

"Jesus answered and said, 'I thank You, Father...that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes'" (Matthew 11:25).

The devotional, by author Oswald Chambers, reads...
"We do not grow into a spiritual relationship step by step -we either have a spiritual relationship or we do not. God does not continue to cleanse us more and more from sin -"But if we walk in the light," we are cleansed "from all sin" (1 John 1:7). It is a matter of obedience, and once we obey, the relationship is instantly perfected. But if we turn away from obedience for even one second, darkness and death are immediately at work again.

All of God's revealed truths are sealed until they are opened to us through obedience. You will never open them through philosophy or thinking. But once you obey, a flash of light comes immediately. Let God's truth work into you by immersing yourself in it, not by worrying into it. The only way you can get to know the truth of God is to stop trying to find out and by being born again. If you obey God in the first thing He shows you, then He instantly opens up the next truth to you. You could read volumes of work on the Holy Spirit, when five minutes of total, uncompromising obedience would make things as clear as sunlight. Don't say, 'I suppose I will understand these things someday!' You can understand them now. And it is not study that brings understanding to you, but obedience. Even the smallest bit of obedience opens heaven, and the deepest truths of God immediately become yours. Yet God will never reveal more truth about Himself to you, until you have obeyed what you know already. Beware of becoming one of the "wise and prudent." "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know..." (John 7:17)."

God will never reveal more truth about Himself to you, until you have obeyed what you know already... these words were part of what really hit home in this for me. I must obey what I already know, which is that God is taking care of Allie. Otherwise I won't be able to understand how or to feel close to Allie in any way.

Thank you for sharing your faith with us. I hope that this devotional can help you too.

In Christ's love,
Jenny

Thank you both for the beautiful words of thought. It has really made me think about the way I deal with Sasha's absence. I am definately a God loving person, but I often wonder why things happen the way they do. Why we are put through so much pain if we are loved by him so much. Is this some kind of sick entertainment? I know it's not, but I just try to find the answer. I just hope, since there is no direct verbage in the Bible about it, that our babies really are there waiting on us. Just the tinge of doubt is enough to break me into tears. If Sasha isn't going to be there, I don't want to be either. I want to be with her or nowhere at all. I could better deal with thinking that when we die, that's it, we are gone....no after life, no heaven, just gone..... than to think about spending eternity wothout her. I guess the whole thing is about trust. To trust our Lord to know how important they are to us and surely not part us from them forever.
Kim