Carried by Community

It has been a very difficult and emotional week for us as a family. Ray's retired Seeing Eye dog, Abby, was put to sleep on Monday. All the animals in our family knew it was time, including Abby. She was just done--tired of the pain of arthritis and her body not working like it used to. All of us miss her very much. Amity has been looking especially melancholy, while Pokey, the cat continues to look around for his buddy.

The doctors and staff at Emmitsburg Veterinary Hospital  were so wonderfully compassionate. The vet was crying with us as Abby was put to sleep. They care so deeply at that place. Even when we saw the folks at the main desk on our way out, they were crying with us.

In the midst of all of this, the community at LTSG carried us with their love and thoughtfulness. From classmates that are still here to those already on internship, from the Dean to the President to Pr. Vickie Brown, who put together and conducted a burial service for Abby, the community of God's people carried us with love and prayers. All together, there were 18 of us at the service. We were deeply moved by the concern of all those who were able to make it to the service as well as so many more who were unable to be with us physically. The communion of saints in this place held us up when we could hardly walk, so to speak.

How Abby was remembered and honored was beyond what we could have anticipated and we are grateful. It helped us to grieve and begin to move forward with the tasks at hand.

Abby will not be with us on internship, but will remain in our hearts. The picture below is from a while ago of Abby on the left and Amity on the right.We learned a lot from having had Abby in our lives. She was a good and faithful friend who always had a wagging tail and lived in the eternal now. Thanks be to God for such a gift.











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