Luke 12:6
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?
Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
Hello Illustrated Faith friends! Today I am Illustrating my Faith in a different way. I want to share a memorial shadow box I created using The Genesis Kit and Bella Blvd products. I created this as a memorial for my beloved dog that we recently had put to sleep. I want to share my heart and some things God has revealed to me through this grieving process.
I truly feel that there is no better earthly example of unconditional love than being loved by a dog. It reminds me of how God loves us so much. There is nothing we can do to make him crave our returned affection any less.
Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers,
nor things present nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I know many have experienced pet loss. This is my first time experiencing this and it is truly heart wrenching. It makes sense that we become attached to our animals. After all, we are created in the image of God and God cares for all of his creatures!
Psalm 147:9
He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
My dog, Chloe, was the first creature on the face of the earth that ever truly needed me. I feel adopting her was a calling of God. In Genesis God gives us dominion over the animals of the earth. I felt led to rescue a dog from the pound and an abused litter of pups were all available for adoption at that time. God gave me 11 wonderful years with her. God used my dog to teach me! She taught me about unconditional friendship and loyalty. God used her to teach me patience in the puppy years! He used her to help comfort me during hard times. He used her to give me a smile when her toes tapped on the wood floors.
Genesis 1:28
Fill the earth and subdue it.
Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air
and over every living creature
that moves on the ground.
Friends, we can be confident that God cares about our animals even more than we do. I know He loved my Chloe and He is caring for me during my time of grief. If you are feeling grief today I pray that the Holy Spirit is interceding for you and that you will feel the peace and comfort of the Holy, Living God.
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SUPPLIES: Illustrated Faith Genesis Kit by Bella Blvd | Assorted Bella Blvd stickers | Neocolor II
Oh Tai this is lovely. Im praying for you and your family as you work through this loss. This piece is incredibly beautiful and wonderful way to remember such a wonderful member of your family. Love you!
Tai,
This is absolutely gorgeous! I will continue to pray for you and your families loss. I’ve never had a pet that I was really close to so I can’t say I know what your feeling but I can imagine losing a family member and how heart broken I’d be. My heart is with you sweet friend <3
I feel the same way you do regarding your dog being truly a gift from God and all they teach us about Him. I got my Gabby when she was 9 weeks old from her momma and she is now 4. She is also the first dog I have ever had and I am amazed how much I love her. I see so much of God in her as well like you expressed. I can truly empathize with you in the loss of your precious dog. What you created in memory of her is perfect. I loved, too, what you said about how much God loves our animals as well. Snif!
Tai,
You are one of my favorite artists when it comes to bible journaling. Or anything, really. I was excited to see a post by you. But saddened by the reason behind it. I’m sorry for your loss. Losing pets is so hard.
What a moving tribute to your dog! Thank you so much for sharing. I truly believe that God calls all living things to praise him, including our animals. (Psalm 148:7-10, “Praise the LORD from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps … Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!”) As such, I believe God uses our animals to reflect God’s love back to us. I know the unconditional love I feel from my cat often serves as a reminder of how God must love me– what a gift from God to give us such loving pets.
I give thanks for the blessing Chloe was in your life, and will be praying that God gives you comfort as you grieve her loss.
Prayers for you , Tai! <3 We lost our lab, Godlie, a year ago. In the time of my initial grief of losing her, I did a memorial page, in my Project Life album, to honor her life and love for our family and it really does bring my heart comfort to look back at it and remember her special love to our family!! I love how you have given honor to Chloe and her love to you!!