God waste nothing

I kept telling myself over and over, “she’s just a dog.” I don’t know how many times I played it over and over in my head. I was hoping my heart would catch up to it so that it wouldn’t hurt so bad. For eight years, she was our shadow. She was there when my daughter walked through some of her most difficult days in college. She was more than a dog; she was a part of our heart. She was a member of our family.

But, there was so much more taking place than just the loss of our fur baby. Through her loss, I knew God was teaching me a lesson on comfort. God did not delight in my suffering. In fact, He wanted me to hand my hurt over to him. This was his battle, not mine. (1 Chr. 20:1) I was sure God would take away my pain if I prayed hard enough. And when he didn’t I began to think God was punishing me. I had held so tight to the lie; I became bound with fear. Sure it’s normal to be sad when you lose your family pet but so much more was taking place here. You see for years I had struggled with aniexty and depression. I used to beg God to just take it. I didn’t want to struggle or be afraid anymore. But it’s the struggle that grew me. He was teaching me that not all suffering was a form of punishment. He wanted me to consider joy in my pain. (James 1:2 )God didn’t promise to keep us comfortable. He promised to always stick by our side when we did suffer. (Duet. 31:8) God changed my focus. I didn’t want to face the pain of losing my sweet Annabelle, but God reminded me just how much he cared for me and my Annabelle. In my grief, He sent me reminders of who He is……. He is the creator of life. He provides the means for us to take care of her when we didn’t know what we were facing. He holds every tear. He sends peace and confirmation in our decisions. He brings transformation in our hearts from past hurts. He wastes nothing. 1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.