It was a Friday when I got the call from the vet that we needed
to make a decision on not IF to put Troop down, but when. I was devastated by
having to make this decision and spent all night begging God to heal my dog.
When I finally fell asleep, He gave me a dream. In my dream, I brought Troop
home from the hospital and everything was very similar to real life. Our house
looked the same, our land was the same but I could tell it was just different
(lighting, weather, atmosphere). In this dream, Troop was healed, running
around and playing with his ball. My parents came over to celebrate with me and
showered me with gifts. Our air conditioning guy (random...?) was at the house
replacing my air conditioner for free like he did every year...??? I woke up and
assumed God was telling me He would heal Troop. We woke up early, went straight
to the vet and expected Troop to be healed. He wasn’t. We ended up putting him
down that day. Jarrod stood beside him and prayed over him as he took his last
breath and we said goodbye.
Later I asked God, “what was with the dream? Why would I get a
dream like that and then have to say goodbye?” He told me that my dream wasn’t
what was going to happen on Earth, but a preview of what life is like in
Heaven. He was showing me that my dog was no longer in pain and is now in a place
where he can run and play without hurting. He was showing me that people there
are loving, giving, kind, compassionate and joyful. I can't confidently say my vision
was exactly what Heaven looks like, but I do know that He was giving me a
glimpse of what it feels like to live in a place where sin, pain, selfishness
and suffering don’t exist.
While He was giving me a glimpse of this world, He started
talking to me about purpose. I was thinking about Troop and wondering why he
made different breeds of dogs with certain skill sets. It also made me think of
humans and how we were given spiritual gifts and purpose in life. I can
understand why He gave humans purpose but I couldn’t figure out why He would
give dogs purpose. He showed me that like humans, He gave dogs purpose to
complete jobs, serve well and bring joy to us. He asked me why I thought we had purpose. The
only answer I had was to do His work on Earth and to reach people. He told me
that I was correct in my thinking but that our purpose doesn’t end when our lives end. I
was dumbfounded. It never once dawned on me that we would have purpose after
our lives end on Earth. Maybe I thought we’d just be face down worshiping Him
or maybe I thought we’d be singing and jumping with joy. While I think we will
be doing that, we’ll be doing much more. In the gentlest way He told me that
our work here is simply a training ground for our work in Heaven. Our life
purpose and spiritual gifts are for His Kingdom’s purpose. We will operate as
who He created us to be in a realm without selfishness, sin, trial or
tribulation. We continue to use our gifting for His glory and live our eternal
lives in a realm of light and love with a Father that longs for us. We get to
do good, fulfilling, rewarding and lasting work for the Most High God.
It’s exciting to me that we get to bring His Kingdom to Earth by
inviting Jesus into our hearts, but it’s more exciting to me that we get to
operate in our gifting and passion without the distractions of a fallen world
after our time on this Earth. It’s quite motivating to know that He cares about
our purpose, not only to do His work here, but to continue our work with Him.
It’s encouraging to know that our life’s work doesn’t die when our bodies die.
For me, it puts things in perspective as to what really matters in life. The
only things we take with us when we die is our relationship with God, the love
shared between us and our commitment to serving Him for eternity.
If you’re unsure about why God created you and what He wants you
to do, please take a moment to ask Him. Ask Him what your purpose is, make time
to have a relationship with Him and open your heart to His overwhelming,
all-consuming love. It’ll be worth it, I promise.
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