Goodbyes.... they suck!

There are times in life where things just stink. Today I sat in my daughters' room and had a talk with them I really would rather not have had. I had to tell them that kitty was sick again, and it was not looking good. It broke my heart to tell them that kitty may go be with Jesus soon. We sat there, I prayed, and held my 5 year old Tabitha in my arms as we both sobbed and cried. Austanne tried to comfort us with her words but I could tell she was hurting some too.

    It's moments like these I never was prepared for as a mom. I AM praying and believing God will heal the cat. He is teetering between being okay one minute and then the next he goes pee and cries out in pain afterward... but he IS urinating. See, his problem is he has gotten kidney stones and keeps struggling to not get them more again. He just came home after 3 1/2 weeks at the vets office. There is a surgery he can have done to help him, but its not something we can afford at the moment. It breaks my heart to see we may lose our cat... this kitty who is so sweet who loves to snuggle up at night and just relax with me.... this kitty who was my dad's cat.... and this kitty who my 5 year old Tabitha has really taken a strong liking to. It breaks my heart to have to put him to sleep but I don't want him to suffer if he does not get better.
     I have peace in my heart right now about it, that God is in control.... I just hope the plan is for kitty to be okay.... not for him to go be with my dad. It's moments like this... I never prepared for as a mom. I hate having to break bad news to my kids.
     I remember walking into the hospital waiting room where all 5 kids were sitting.... waiting with the rest of my family as we had just arrived in town to go see my dad in the hospital. I remember walking in that room, dreading and preparing in my mind what I needed to tell them. I remember it being the first time any of them had to face anything so serious. I remember calling them all over and telling them with a broken heart that sometimes Jesus chooses to fix us here on this earth.... and sometimes He chooses to fix us in Heaven. My heart ached with pain as I knew I would be losing my dad soon because I knew upon seeing him what the answer was. It broke my heart to see my children sad, to see the heartbreak in their eyes and the tears. Knowing that they would not get that final goodbye because I did not want that to be their last memory of their Grandpa. My heart broke....
     Goodbyes suck. I can't put it any more plainly. They just flat out suck. I don't know how spouses make it through those times of saying goodbye.... when its more than a "see you in an hour," but rather, "I will see you on the other side." My heart breaks for parents who have to to say those final goodbyes to their precious children who have gone on before them.

     But we have that hope, in Jesus. We have that hope that if we call on Him, if we ask Him into our hearts, He will hear us, He will forgive us, and He will save us. We will go to Heaven when we die and spend an eternity with Him and with those we love so much.
     I ask you today, if you don't know Jesus.... do you want to? Do you want to step out and know that when you die, you will go to Heaven? That you will get to be with not only God the Father, but also be reunited with those you love so dearly? I implore you to ask Jesus into your heart today.... because there is no sadder goodbye than a goodbye that will last an eternity.

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John 3:16

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

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