In Memory of Pepper
Yesterday our house was very sad….lots of tears and lots of pain. We had to put Pepper to sleep. He has been a part of our family for nearly 10 years. Because of his arthritic condition he could barely make it up steps, he was constantly in pain and recently had begun throwing up. The inevitable had arrived, the end was near and we were faced with a very difficult decision.
Over the past several years we have accumulated lots of memories with our dog…..well, I guess most of them have to do with him begging for food, or snoring, or licking his paw, or trolling the neighborhood, or sleeping, or just laying down waiting to be pet.
If I were to write an obituary for him, I may struggle finding accomplishments….he never saved our lives (that we know of), he never had any puppies (I guess we had something to do with that), he never really learned any cool tricks (besides begging for food), he was not the fastest dog (possibly closer to the fattest dog), he never made any life changing discoveries (unless finding and dragging in a dead bird counts), he was just an ordinary dog that EVERYONE LOVED!
He had a great personality, was gentle with children and was so puffy that you just had to pet him. Pepper was willing to be anyone’s friend. He did not care if you looked good, smelled good or had lots of money. He humbly sniffed every dog’s behind in the neighborhood. Pepper left a legacy of acceptance, love and friendship.....NOT TOO SHABBY!!!!
So why is death so difficult?
Maybe for the same reason change is difficult. There is a part of us that doesn’t want another dog, because we don’t want to go through loss. Down deep we know that the years we had with Pepper were totally worth the pain of the loss, however while going through loss we seem to just want it to go away.
Death and loss and change are a part of life…..not a part of life we enjoy, but nonetheless a part of life. This means that we have the option to grow through our difficult times or simply attempt to shield ourselves from difficult times. Often the cost of shielding is far greater than the cost of actual loss.
The sermon this week is from 1 Peter 2:18-25 and it is about suffering. Much of the service will celebrate the suffering of Jesus. The objective for each of us will be to learn how to thrive during difficult times from the example of Jesus who conquered suffering through death. If you miss the service you can hear it here.
Over the past several years we have accumulated lots of memories with our dog…..well, I guess most of them have to do with him begging for food, or snoring, or licking his paw, or trolling the neighborhood, or sleeping, or just laying down waiting to be pet.
If I were to write an obituary for him, I may struggle finding accomplishments….he never saved our lives (that we know of), he never had any puppies (I guess we had something to do with that), he never really learned any cool tricks (besides begging for food), he was not the fastest dog (possibly closer to the fattest dog), he never made any life changing discoveries (unless finding and dragging in a dead bird counts), he was just an ordinary dog that EVERYONE LOVED!
He had a great personality, was gentle with children and was so puffy that you just had to pet him. Pepper was willing to be anyone’s friend. He did not care if you looked good, smelled good or had lots of money. He humbly sniffed every dog’s behind in the neighborhood. Pepper left a legacy of acceptance, love and friendship.....NOT TOO SHABBY!!!!
So why is death so difficult?
Maybe for the same reason change is difficult. There is a part of us that doesn’t want another dog, because we don’t want to go through loss. Down deep we know that the years we had with Pepper were totally worth the pain of the loss, however while going through loss we seem to just want it to go away.
Death and loss and change are a part of life…..not a part of life we enjoy, but nonetheless a part of life. This means that we have the option to grow through our difficult times or simply attempt to shield ourselves from difficult times. Often the cost of shielding is far greater than the cost of actual loss.
The sermon this week is from 1 Peter 2:18-25 and it is about suffering. Much of the service will celebrate the suffering of Jesus. The objective for each of us will be to learn how to thrive during difficult times from the example of Jesus who conquered suffering through death. If you miss the service you can hear it here.
posted by Admin at
3:17 PM
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