Ode to Cassie

Ode to my Cassie who died 5 years ago: Dogs lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you're going to lose a dog, and, there's going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never failing to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can't support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There's such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware it comes with an unbearable price. Maybe loving dogs is a way we do penance for all the other illusions we allow ourselves and for the mistakes we make because of those illusions. Dean Koontz, The Darkest Evening of the Year.

Because God is Never Cruel....

Because God is never cruel, there is a reason for all things. We must know the pain of loss; because if we never knew it, we would have no compassion for others, and we would become monsters of self-regard, creatures of unalloyed self-interest. The terrible pain of loss teaches us humility to our prideful kind, has the power to soften uncaring hearts, to make a better person of a good one. Dean Koontz, The Darkest Evening of the Year.

Still Missing my Dad

My Dad died 3 years ago. I still miss him. There's an ache in my heart that comes whenever I stop and think about him. It hurts. I think about him anyway.
Somehow, the pain and sorrow I feel are comforting to me, but they do not replace the comfort I felt from him wrapping his big old arms around me and giving me a tight hug. I miss that. I really do.
Soon Daddy, we will be united in heaven -- loving Christ and loving one another.