Lexi

Lexi is the cute maltise pictured with Presley. Lexi is the dog Brad and Leann, his sister, bought for Mimi at Christmas almost 14 years ago. As with any pet, she was a loved part of the family. On Saturday my mother in law sent me a text at 2pm letting me know that Lexi had passed away that morning. The girls were napping, Brad had gone to Norman to watch OU play Florida State. Immediately I picked up the phone to call her. She did pretty good telling me about what had happened. (Lexi had not been feeling well for a few weeks, and when she woke up on Saturday her breathing was very labored. My mother in law called the vet when they opened at 8am, but when she went in to get her to take her to the vet, Lexi had already passed away.) My mother in law waited until 2pm to text me because she did not want Brad to change his plans and not go to the football game. She did not want to burden us. We would not have minded at all.

People have passed away in both of our families. But this is the first time someone has passed away that I knew Presley would be old enough to understand and be upset. I waited until Brad got home at 9:30pm and showed him the text from his mother. I knew he would be sad. He was. We told Presley on Sunday morning. It took just a few seconds before "that look" appeared on her face. I held my arms out and she came and sat on my lap and sobbed for some time. She loves animals, she loved Lexi. Lexi, even though she was a bit grouchy in her old age, had come to add Presley into her small circle of trusted people. Anytime Mimi was coming to our house, she wanted Lexi to come. Mimi came to our house the past Tuesday night, and Presley wanted to make sure she brought Lexi with her, she did.

She took it hard, we all have. She cried several times off and on through out the day and before bed, we all did. But it has given us the opportunity to talk about Heaven, how when we get to Heaven we get new bodies, we do not hurt, we are in the presence of God. We have talked about how it is okay to be sad and to miss our loved ones, but we can have peace because we know where they are and we can have hope because death on earth is not where it ends, our spirit is eternal and we will get to see those who have gone before us!

Peace and hope mixed with sadness and sorrow. It is painful. But it is also incredible. Because of sin, physical death is inevitable. Because of Jesus Christ, eternal life can never be taken from those who believe in Him. There may always be a small hole in our heart here on earth left by those who have gone before us. But when we join them in heaven and we receive our new bodies those small holes will be healed by the blood of Lamb. That is the reason we can bear the sadness and sorrow mixed with peace and hope!