A small tragedy struck our house yesterday. We lost another pet as our cat, Tigger, died after having been attacked by something. That makes 3 dogs and 1 cat that I've buried since we've been in our house and 1 dog and 1 cat that have just disappeared. It's been a tough run on animals.

It's interesting to see how everyone handles it. Kelly's maternal instincts come out and I can see her hurting for the loss, deeply saddened. Kory does her best to put on a stone face and act like it doesn't bother her yet you can see in her eyes the pain and sweet little Joshua let's his emotions flow out. I'm not sure how I deal with it. Having grown up with dogs that always seemed to get in the street and run over, I'm used to some turnover in animals and have come to view it as part of life. I miss them but they are usually replaced and we move on.

How does God view us when He loses us, even for a small time? I get a mental image that God weeps, not just tears in His eyes, but truly crying as if hurt. I believe the pain He feels is gut-wrenching and I hate to think how many times I have caused that pain.

We often feel that pain when we lose a loved one. We weep and we mourn and we wrestle with the loss yet I think that might be when God's face shines because another saint is coming home. Oh, I know He feels for our pain yet I think He rejoices when another soul makes it home to be with Him.

That's the lesson for me. I need to feel the pain when I see my loved ones drift off course and I need to react to that, to reach out to them and try to help. And, when someone passes from this life that I know has a new, beautiful, glorious home I need to rejoice that they have attained what I truly want. Life with God. I know the pain of loss will still hurt and I know I will miss something I once had but those thoughts need to turn to God and His love and His promise for me...and for you.