Remembering a good friend...

It has taken a few weeks to be able to share our sad news, but we want to be able to remember our lovely furry friend and companion Winston. He was a constant reminder of the unconditional love that God gave us in Jesus, always available for a chat and a hug and seemed to know just what you needed.

Grief is a mysterious experience that seems to catch us by surprise, one day he was here wagging his tail, the next day we were saying goodbye. Even now as I write I can sense the welling sadness in my throat. If you have ever lost someone or an animal that you love, you feel the grief in your body, you feel pain. It's not a pain that easily heals, the wound can be rubbed very quickly when we remember what we have lost. It has been 6 weeks now since we lost our dear friend, and we are coming to terms that he is not here anymore.

I was chatting to someone recently who said they probably would never get an animal because they fear it will be sad when it passes away. I can understand the desire to avoid the pain of loss but the joy of experiencing the warmth and love of an animal if just for a short time far outweighs the loss. For those who have been hurt by fellow humans, the comfort of an animal can keep us alive, can keep us moving forward, I know those who will resonate with this thought.

If we live our lives avoiding painful emotions, we may not experience the fullness of joy and gratitude, emotions are a wonderful gift to remind us that we are alive, that we have loved and lost, that we are capable of forming positive attachments to another. We hope Winston brought you a little joy, please give your furry friends an extra hug today for us!

We are going to take some time to adapt to life without Winston but we hope to add another little furry friend to our family next year and we look forward to introducing him to you.

Meet the author Nada Appleby

Hi, I'm Nada. I love working with individuals across the life span helping them to safely explore their inner worlds so as to connect with God more fully and get to know the gifts and strengths he has given them in service to others. I try to bring into every session a glimpse of the compassion, love and acceptance that God has so freely given me. Visit Nada's page to learn more.