One Creature Great and Small

I took Micah to the vet this morning fully knowing that she would not be coming home. She was really sick and everyone knew the time had come to let her go.

Micah was a vital part of our family for over twelve years. Companion, confidante, and champion eater, she was everything that a family could hope for in a dog. When you have six kids in ten years, you require pets that are patient, longsuffering, and gentle. Micah was such a quiet presence that sometimes she didn't get the attention that she probably deserved. But with a simple pat on the head or tummy rub, she would stare into our eyes with unending adoration. She was almost always the first to approach those with heavy spirits and offer total acceptance and a lick of encouragement. Like many dogs, she was special. God created her uniquely for us.

With that introduction, ten lingering reflections of the Underdog's underdog:

1. Micah heard just about as many of my quiet time prayers as God did. She was always underfoot during my Bible study. I don't know if she was praying with me or just eavesdropping.

2. Micah confirmed my belief in God's sovereignty over little things. She was the perfect dog for a family of our size and complexity.

3. Unconditional love, never skipping a day in twelve years.

4. I take showers. So when I would turn on a bathtub faucet anywhere in the house, Micah would disappear. She hated baths.

5. She was funny looking, but never cared.

6. Micah last contribution to our family was an opportunity to teach my kids tonight that the wages of sin is death. Death is a terrible thing. But grace is greater than all our sin. And death has lost its sting.

7. My youngest two kids will never know Micah, but their older siblings will be able to tell stories about her.

8. Micah never got angry. Never. No one could recall a time when she as much as snapped at anyone. Micah set a good example for me.

9. That dog was a dumb as a rock. But her emotional intelligence was off the charts. She could just sense the person in the family that needed a little puppy love at any given moment.

10. Micah was a gift. As we remembered and told stories about Micah this evening, we ended by praising her Creator. Our family would have been very different if she had not been a member. In the twelve years Mrs. Underdog and I have been married, we have moved four times, introduced six children, and worked for six different employers. Micah was a consistent source of affection and loyalty through it all.

Micah never learned to read. But I am going to type this anyway, fully knowing she will never see it:

Thanks, Micah.

Well done.

Rest in peace.