Dear Old Friend,
We began this New Year with a gaping hole in our
hearts. Our beloved dog, Quiz, developed
serious health issues and, despite our best efforts, he declined to the point
that we felt it was cruel to allow him to suffer any further. As you know, I’ve lost many loved ones over
the years, so I know grief, and I can tell you, death is death and grief is
grief. If you genuinely loved a pet, the
grief you feel is real and deep.
We knew from the moment we found him that Quiz was God’s
gift to us. We initially believed that
we rescued him, but we soon came to see it was the other way around. Our mutual quirks and eccentricities fit
together like a hand and glove. We were
made for each other.
When you and I were growing up, there was a song
called I Love How You Love Me. I’ve concluded that song title is
spot on. What we all long for is to find a love where those words are true.
In an earlier letter I wrote to you about meeting Quiz for
the first time. He had been abandoned as
a puppy and wandered the streets, trying to survive. All he wanted was to be loved; but, he didn’t
think it would ever happen. For awhile after
he came to live with us he still wasn’t too sure; but once he finally believed we loved him, he melted. The
difference was dramatic!
He wanted nothing more than to be with us. When we had been out and returned home, he
wagged his entire body in greeting. He
was a snuggler, and loved to nuzzle his head into us. When we were together in the living room he
liked to sleep with part of his body touching one of us, preferably lying on
our feet. If either my husband or I were
upset, he always sensed it and came to bring us comfort. Our love for Quiz transformed him, and his
love for us did the same.
Knowing that you are truly loved changes you! Of course that makes me think about God. He knows that we creatures are like that,
because he created us to be that way.
The original idea was that humans would always feel God’s love and we
would respond in kind. The cycle of
reciprocated love was intended to be lavish and uninterrupted.
But sin messed everything up until we came to the point
where we believed God could not possibly love us. We thought that he saw us as unworthy and
unlovable; but the fact is that his love for us had never changed. He loved us so much that he sent Jesus to
show us that love, and then he sent the Holy Spirit to continually remind us of
that love until we truly believe it.
Fully and finally allowing ourselves to believe and accept
God’s deep, unconditional love for us—to love how he loves us—transforms us
in the same way Quiz's acceptance of our love transformed him. As Romans 8:38-39 says, not even death can
separate us from that love.
I find comfort in that.
Love Always,
Bonnie
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