Lord, thank you for Sally, our dog

She has been a member of our family for over 11 years now. She has been a source of comfort, friendship, protection, and love for not just my little family, but also for our neighborhood. She has been our champion and our friend. Now she is wearing out....her body is fighting against her. We're not sure what exactly she is fighting against, but we so don't want her to suffer. She is such a trooper....she has crawled across the yard to lay in the sun. She's crawled across the floor to try to crawl into her pen....she's tried to rise to greet her loved ones over and over. It breaks my heart to see her like this, but I'm glad that we've had a chance to love on her and say goodbye. As hard as it is, I have had to slow down and appreciate many things today....the warm sunshine, the blue sky, a loyal pet, my healthy loud children, neighbors who love us and EVERY member of our family--so many blessings!! God is so good to us. Though I've been very stressed lately and have allowed the Devil to bring me down, I've also been clinging to the cross desperately. He never fails. Through our darkest, roughest times, He is holding us and helping us to love those around us. What assurance it is to hear my 8 year old say that it is okay for Sally to go on to Heaven, because we'll see her again there. Blessed assurance, Jesus is Mine!! Oh, what a foretaste of Glory Divine! Thank you, Lord, for blessing us and trusting us with taking care of Sally. She has been so special to us. Don't let her suffer Lord. Show us what we need to do for her. If she is in pain, help us let her go. Help the boys to understand. Help Chris to not feel like there is something else that could have been done. Help me let the tears flow. Hold us all, Lord. Hold us close to You.