As I sat next to my daughter, tears began to fill my eyes. Her innocence was slipping away, but it gave me a chance to explain to her God’s greatest desire.
Yesterday, our families Golden Retriever gave birth to puppies. We had been awaiting the moment for the last two months and we knew that she was getting closer. She was walking around less, starting to pant heavily, and she was trying to make a bit of a home for these new little guys. The kids were at school when the first puppy was born, and when Tricia picked them up from school they could hardly sit still on the ride home. They couldn’t wait to see the puppies (see attached picture).
My daughter is 5.5 years old, and she is such a tender heart. Whenever anyone gets hurt, she is very quick to comfort and console them, telling them that everything is going to be okay. How does she know these things? J
But then it happened. The fourth puppy that came out wasn’t moving. We tried to stimulate it to breath and come to life, but after several minutes we knew that wasn’t going to happen. The puppy was stillborn. It was the first girl to be born as well, and my daughter has an affinity for the girls. She held that puppy for so long, caressing it’s body as it lay in a towel. She even took her over to Anney so that, in her words, “Anney could say good-bye.” It was so sweet and yet so heart-breaking at the same time. She was losing her innocence; that sense that everything in the world is okay. She was realizing that everything in the world was not okay.
As hard as this was for me, her father, to watch (no Father wants their child to be said), it did give us a chance to talk about how sad death is to Jesus. We talked about how Jesus never wanted us to experience hurt and pain and loss. Ally seemed to grasp this idea well. She said, “I know Jesus doesn’t like it when we hurt. But Adam and Eve disobeyed God and then we had hurtness and sadness and painness in the world.” I smiled and nodded my head, but then I talked about how this world isn’t our home. We talked about the day when there is no more hurtness or sadness or painness in the world anymore (Revelation 21-22). We talked about the day when all things will be made right, when the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.”
When a horrible earthquake devastates a country, encourage one another with these words. When your best friends parent’s divorce, encourage one another with these words. When you fail a class, when you get dumped, when you lose a loved one, when you experience great hurtness, sadness, and painness, encourage one another with these words for the Lord is coming, He is on His way, and His reward is with Him. He longs to take us to the life He created for us, to the life where we are with Him forever.
My prayer is that you would know just how much Jesus desires to take you there. He desired it so much He gave up His life, He changed His essence by taking on Human skin, He walked this earth and experienced greater hurt, sadness, and pain than we may ever know. He did it all for us.
Please, come soon Lord Jesus, and thank you for giving us the hope that you are on your way and that this life, as great as it can be at times, is only temporary. The life to come, the one with you, that’s eternal. PRAISE GOD!
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