I just discovered this website so I'm adding a memorial I wrote a week after her passing.

You may get the idea that the focus of this post is the loss of a pet. It isn’t although it is about the loss of our beloved pet Bridget. Its focus is on tuning into one of the different ways we are impacted by God’s attempts to develop and deepen a relationship with us.

It has been a week since Bridget died sometime Saturday night October 3rd or early Sunday morning October 4th her and I still can’t get that image of finding when I got up and saying, “Ah, Bridget,” out of my mind. I don’t know if I ever will, perhaps I shouldn’t.

Of all the pets I’ve had and lost over the years losing Bridget has really had a powerful impact on me and I am not sure why that is. Maybe I never will. And as I’ve already stated, perhaps I shouldn’t know. I remember the following Monday morning was the first day of my normal daily morning activities and for the first time in over 6 years I did not have to let Bridget out, give her, her morning dog bone, and 3 animal cookies. It was the first morning I and God spent alone without her lying next to me in my chair as I read my bible and wrote the morning’s Glory Seed. While I felt God’s presence I knew wasn’t alone but I could definitely feel and continue to feel a big hole in my heart. Here is the Glory Seed Devotional from that first Monday morning.

Glory Seed Devotional, 10/05/2015

Glory Seed Devotionals, 2015: Year of Promise

Mornings with Bridget…

This morning’s Glory Seed may not be for everyone because not everyone feels the deep emotional and spiritual connection with their pet. Patti and do. Sometime during the night of October 3rd Bridget our pet Shih Tzu passed quietly away in her sleep and suddenly we found a big chunk of our lives was gone. For Patti, Bridget was her last living connection with her mom who passed away last year. For me Bridget was my early morning companion, a constant presence who lay next to me in my chair as I spent my first hours of the day in God’s Word.

I am convinced that every life God creates God leaves something of Himself in them. God said, "I command the earth to give life to all kinds of tame animals, wild animals, and reptiles." And that's what happened. God made every one of them. Then he looked at what he had done, and it was good.” (Genesis 1:24-25 CEV, emphasis mine) Like all relationships having a pet means making sacrifices and our relationship with Bridget was no exception yet our sacrifices were offset by the benefits of Bridget’s undying loyalty, companionship, devotion, and love. Over the years I have had many teachers teach me about God and it was out of her unwavering, I-will-never-turn-away loyalty, companionship, devotion, and love Bridget taught me that God was totally devoted to our relationship.

This morning sitting here in my chair with and empty heart and an empty chair I find myself saddened at our loss yet I am comforted by the fact that God loved and trusted us enough with a life so precious and blessed as was Bridget’s life. It will always be a mystery why during the night of Saturday, October 3, 2015 she left us because there were no warning signs anything was wrong, it was almost as if she knew her work here was done that she had completed what God sent her to do so she accepted her eternal reward.

“Then he looked at what he had done, and it was good.” I believe one of the most powerful and influential ways God blesses us is through a devoted pet such as Bridget and I stated earlier perhaps not everyone will understand and agree with me. And that’s okay yet on the other hand never forget God goes to great lengths to bless us and help us deal with our day-to-day lives.

Goodbye Bridget you have truly been a great blessing to me and I will miss you terribly and I will think of you often and when I do I will thank God for bringing us together. Enjoy eternity my friend.

Believe! Anticipate! Experience! Be transformed! Celebrate!

Grace and PEACE, Amen!

Gary

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“I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it? I have put roads in deserts, streams in thirsty lands.” (Isaiah 43:19)

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Unless marked otherwise all scriptures are from the CEV, “Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.”

Father God, am I supposed to feel this way? What significance did Bridget really have for me? She was somewhat of a pain-in-the-neck as you well know. But then the bottom line is there are times when I am a pain-in-the-neck too! In morning’s Glory Seed I wrote, “I believe one of the most powerful and influential ways God blesses us is through a devoted pet such as Bridget and I stated earlier perhaps not everyone will understand and agree with me. And that’s okay yet on the other hand they should never forget You go to great lengths to bless us and help us deal with our day-to-day lives.” Now as I think about Bridget and what I wrote I think perhaps having a pet is a test given to us from you to test our loyalty, dedication, and obligation to take care of the world you’ve charged us to take care of. Father God, I sincerely hope Patti and I passed your Bridget test.

I wonder how many people see animals especially pets as creations and gifts of God and taking them for granted. I have always been an animal lover. Went hunting once and sure was glad I never encountered something to shoot. I don’t think I could have pulled the trigger anyway. I’ve always gotten emotionally attached to all the pets I’ve had over the years with only one exception I had pet fish once and could not establish a very deep relationship with them. For some reason it wasn’t until Bridget I began seeing a spiritual attachment as well as an emotional one. I am not sure why I never understood it before now because I’ve always understood (as best I can) God has an intimate connection with ALL of creation including inanimate objects, living plants, animals, birds, sea creatures, insects, reptiles, and people.

In case you’re not convinced God uses animals to tutor and impact us humans here’s an incident out of the bible that not only testifies God does use animals to tutor and impact us but also tells us how much compassion He has for them. “Balaam was riding his donkey to Moab, and two of his servants were with him. But God was angry that Balaam had gone, so one of the Lord’s angels stood in the road to stop him. When Balaam’s donkey saw the angel standing there with a sword, it walked off the road and into an open field. Balaam had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road. Then the angel stood between two vineyards, in a narrow path with a stone wall on each side. When the donkey saw the angel, it walked so close to one of the walls that Balaam’s foot scraped against the wall. Balaam beat the donkey again. The angel moved once more and stood in a spot so narrow that there was no room for the donkey to go around. So it just lay down. Balaam lost his temper, then picked up a stick and smacked the donkey. When that happened, the Lord told the donkey to speak, and it asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that made you beat me three times?” “You made me look stupid!” Balaam answered. “If I had a sword, I’d kill you here and now!” “But you’re my owner,” replied the donkey, “and you’ve ridden me many times. Have I ever done anything like this before?” “No,” Balaam admitted. Just then, the Lord let Balaam see the angel standing in the road, holding a sword, and Balaam bowed down. The angel said, “You had no right to treat your donkey like that! I was the one who blocked your way, because I don’t think you should go to Moab. If your donkey had not seen me and stopped those three times, I would have killed you and let the donkey live.”” (Numbers 22:22–33, CEV)

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Unless marked otherwise all scriptures are from the CEV, “Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.”