Where is Heaven?

On August 2nd, Jason and I made the decision to put Abe down. We knew it was time and more importantly, Abe knew it was time.  That morning I found him laying behind the washing machine, which probably took every last stitch of energy he had. I asked Sydney and Savannah to sit on the couch as I struggled through what was going to happen with Abe.  Sydney had no tolerance for me beating around the bush and just blurted out, "So is Abe going to DIE?!" I'm not sure at that moment she really know what that meant. I pulled Abe out from behind the washer and asked the girls to say goodbye before they went to school. Jason had the most difficult task of taking Abe to the vet and waiting with him. That evening the girls didn't understand why Abe wasn't at home. This is about how the conversation went...

Savannah: Is Abe at the Vet?
Mom: No, he is in heaven with God.
Savannah: Where is heaven?
Mom: It's where God lives. It's where you go when you get old or sick.
Savannah: How did Abe get there?
Mom: The angels took him.
Savannah: Tell the angels to bring him back home.
Mom: It doesn't work that way. Once the angels get you, you can't come back. You are with Jesus forever.
Savannah: I don't think Jesus likes Abe.
Mom: Jesus loves everybody.
Savannah: Well Abe doesn't like Jesus so he needs to come home now!

Needless to say it was a tear-filled and very sad night at the Van Camp house.

Abers Van Camp
Born ~1996
Adopted - January 6, 2001
Departed - August 2, 2012

A Parting Prayer

 
Dear Lord, please open your gates
and call St. Francis
to come escort this beloved companion
across the Rainbow Bridge.

Assign him to a place of honor,
for he has been a faithful servant
and has always done his best to please us.

Bless the hands that send him to you,
for they are doing so in love and compassion,
freeing him from pain and suffering.

Grant us the strength not to dwell on our loss.
Help us remember the details of his life
with the love he has shown us.
And grant us the courage to honor him
by sharing those memories with others.

Let him remember us as well
and let him know that we will always love him.
And when it's my time to pass over into your paradise,
please allow him to accompany those
who will bring us home.

Thank you, Lord,
for the gift of his companionship
and for the time we've had together.

And thank you, Lord,
for granting us the strength
to give him to you now.

Amen.

- © Brandy Duckworth, 1998