Well done, good and faithful servant

I never really liked dogs all that much. I'm more of a cat person.

Ginger changed that.

She came into our family as a Christmas present for our 12 year old son. We figured every boy should have a dog. I don't know what it was about her that won my heart - I could list so many heartwarming memories of her and they would just sound old and cliched. Most of us have experienced similar stories with dogs.
I do know one thing - she loved us perfectly. Whether we deserved it or not I can't really say; that didn't matter to her. She accomplished everything she was created for.

I have shared here that I worry. A pastor once told me that I shouldn't worry. Worrying was a sign of a lack of faith. I don't think he realized how destructive that advice was for me. This well meaning advice was given by someone who is not burdened by being overly sensitive. I once shared in this post how I've come to view being too sensitive, but I've also come to think that one of the consequences of feeling things more deeply than some people is that of course you worry more. Events that are merely a hiccup to other people can wipe the floor with me and leave me completely twisted up, wrung out, and spent. Worry? Heck yeah!

I have a worry that trumps all other worries. As the most foundational worry of all, it is mostly hidden, lying beneath the surface day to day, week to week transitory worries that occupy my conscious mind, mostly forgotten until something taps that bedrock and shakes my foundation to the core. The worry goes back to this quote: "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matt.25:23). The Bible says that these are the words that the Lord will greet us by when we return home from this life.

My deepest fear is that I won't hear that greeting because I have fallen so very short.

I know that many people don't think that animals are in heaven. I can't help but think that they are wrong. While my own eternal reception haunts me, there is one thing in this confusing life of which I am absolutely certain: When Ginger went back this week to be with her creator, there is no doubt in my mind that she heard the words:

"Well done, good and faithful servant".