hard decisions

My last post was about the hard question in our home and living alongside that recently have been some hard decisions... medical, housing, job, church, ministry, school.  A season of change for sure and with that come the moments when you have to make the tough call.

Thirteen years ago Kevin and I sat across the table from one another at Baja Fresh.  In front of us sat a stack of papers printed from our computer.  On each paper was a picture of a dog available for adoption and a description of what they knew about that dog.  We didn't have any children, but knew we wanted to start a family soon.  So the dog needed to be good with kids.  We also both worked full time.  So the dog needed to be house broken.  We prayed over the papers and asked God to lead us to the right dog.  Our hearts were drawn to a lab-beagle mix named Missy.

We took the leap and brought her into our home.  She has been a fabulous dog for our family through all the seasons we have traveled the last 13 years.  My running partner, my middle of the night feeding buddy, my security guard when Kevin traveled, friend for my children.  She was the perfect fit for us.  A few months ago she started growing a tumor on the side of her body.  At her age, it didn't make sense to choose surgery.  For awhile the tumor grew slowly and wasn't really an issue.  Then it started to make doing the stairs more difficult.  And we have four long staircases in our home.  Then it started to bleed... on the carpet, on the walls, on the furniture.  In a home where the stress level is already on red many days, having an ailing dog was not working.

We struggled to on making a decision.  We did not want to put her down because she does not seem to be in pain but we also could not give her the care she needed at this stage in her life.  Thankfully we had a third option.  Missy has gone to live out the rest of her days with my parents.  It was difficult to say good bye, but knowing we can see her at their house did help with the loss.  It seems very strange without her here.  Every time I open the door I expect to see her and then my heart is sad when I remember she is gone.  The kids daily comment on how they miss having her in our home.

This week we are dog sitting for our friends.  Whimzy came home with us tonight and has put a smile on everyone's faces.  As I put her bed in our boys' room, Kody asked, "Is she sleeping in here?"  "Yes", I replied.  A huge grin swept across Kody's face, "Awesome!"

There are some more monumental decisions coming for our family in the weeks ahead.  Big decisions that could totally change everything in our lives.  As I watched Kody playing with our friend's dog, I heard God whisper... when one season ends, another adventure is waiting.