Well done, good and faithful servant

I just received word that the Anderson's beloved friend Lucy has passed away. Their hearts are broken at their loss. Please pray that God would provide the healing for their hearts and peace for their spirits at this very, very tough time.

It's the only flaw dogs have really, they live too few years. The following is the post I wrote when Lucy came home with them almost 6 years ago. 

"A dog is the only thing on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself." Josh Billings

Things are about to change at the Anderson's house.

Lucy the dog is coming to her forever home.

To look at the Andersons you wouldn't think they lacked a thing - they are a great family. Awesome dad and mom and great son -my friend Ian. They even have a cat.

But they've lacked something without really knowing it. They've lacked the love of dog.

From the earliest recorded history, people and dogs have been together. Of all the species that inhabit this earth, none has bonded with humans like the dog. Countless stories have been written about dogs that found their way home over hundreds of miles, that remained faithful to owners who had passed away, who gave everything they had as long as they could. Dogs have given their lives to save us, have rescued us from all manners of harm, and warned us of dangers we could never have seen. They've lowered our blood pressure and given us someone to talk to.

But their greatest work is in giving us a living example of how to love unconditionally.

The love of dog.

Sometime Sunday afternoon, Lucy the dog will come home.

And that home will never be the same.

We Both Ate Lucky Charms For Breakfast Yesterday

Lucy in better days

Spent some time yesterday with some of my favorite young people - Kira Stoy, Sydney Hoskinson, and Ian Anderson. Bunny had the girls in our Honda so Mr. Ian and I headed out in my car. Ian and I have a lot in common.

- We both ate Lucky Charms for breakfast yesterday
- We both wonder about things like physics and natural laws that other people don't
- We both love science fiction
- We both get our geek on, obviously

Yesterday though we had lots of fun looking at the high tech tools in Home Depot and Office Depot, and though we shared a love of pizza at Cici's (he ate at least 9 pieces, I ate 4), we also talked about something we share that neither of us ever wanted.

You see Ian's friend Lucy the dog is dying from a brain tumor.

I know how that feels.

Our friend Henley the Great Dane had bone cancer with no hope of a cure, and the weeks between knowing something was wrong and the understanding that it was cancer were awful. We couldn't look at him without crying. We kept praying it would go away, but it didn't.

It wasn't our first experience with the death of a furry friend though.

For Ian, Lucy was his first encounter with the incredible, lavish generosity of a dog's love. She converted a cat-loving boy to someone who would come into my office and talk about what Lucy did yesterday, or tell me about the photos on his phone. She came into the family unexpectedly - rescued while they were on vacation in Alabama - and was adopted into their hearts and lives. Joy with fur. But now came sorrow, deep.

So when he talked about it yesterday, eyes clouding up as he did, I was listening and praying for God to pour every ounce of grace and mercy into my friend's heart. "Bear each other's burdens..." is commanded in Scripture, but I knew that the best I could do is pray for God to touch the heart of my young friend, and help him begin to work it out.

Pray for the Anderson family. Pray for Ian. Pray for Lucy.

And thank God for dogs - for the ONLY thing worse than saying goodbye to one is never having been loved by one at all. Even in death, they teach us how to live.

The Love of Dog

A dog is the only thing on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself.

Josh Billings

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Jesus

Things are about to change at the Anderson's house.

Lucy the dog is coming to her forever home.

To look at the Andersons you wouldn't think they lacked a thing - they are a great family. Awesome dad and mom and great son -my friend Ian. They even have a cat.

But they've lacked something without really knowing it. They've lacked the love of dog.

From the earliest recorded history, people and dogs have been together. Of all the species that inhabit this earth, none has bonded with humans like the dog. Countless stories have been written about dogs that found their way home over hundreds of miles, that remained faithful to owners who had passed away, who gave everything they had as long as they could. Dogs have given their lives to save us, have rescued us from all manners of harm, and warned us of dangers we could never have seen. They've lowered our blood pressure and given us someone to talk to.

But their greatest work is in giving us a living example of how to love unconditionally.

The love of dog.

Sometime Sunday afternoon, Lucy the dog will come home.

And that home will never be the same.

God is good.

"Well Done"

"A man makes a living out of what he gets, he makes a life out of what he gives away." - Winston Churchill

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
John 15:13 (NLT) - Jesus Christ

We laid the body that had contained the immortal soul of Tommy Williams to rest yesterday. While living his life enjoying the love of his bride Amelia, his daughters Amy and Blythe, his grandson Ian, and that of his friends, he was overtaken by cancer and succumbed to death.

I knew Tommy mostly from the impact he had on his family. We had met several times when he would bring Ian (or pick him up from) to his piano lessons, and when he'd come to New Hope to watch Ian do something special in the service. Thinking back, I never saw Tommy Williams when he wasn't focused on someone else.

At the viewing, the family had provided dozens of pictures of Tommy and family throughout his life. They showed a couple in love, the family as it began and grew, and as they experienced one of the sweetest of God's gifts - joy. I peeked into those vignettes and found Tommy was many times sitting next to someone laughing. In others where he was the sole subject, he appeared at rest and in contentment. So few people are.

Yesterday more windows into Tommy's life opened as we heard from people who had known him for many many years tell of how he had lived a consistent life of service, compassion, and faithfulness throughout his adult life. His pastor pointed out that it was the presence of Jesus within Tommy that was behind it all. This pastor can tell you that though many people have been given new life through Jesus Christ, far fewer live one.

Tommy did.

To the very end.

Tommy's already heard this from Jesus, but I want to say it too.

"Well done."

He will be missed, but not forgotten.