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> His Tender Mercies Are Over All His Works
>> The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

Occasion: Loss of a pet

Lord, the food dish is still on the floor.
I haven't moved it.
Some mornings I still listen
for the sound of pattering paws
before I remember...

People mean well when they say
"it was just a pet."
It wasn't ``just'' anything.
It was years of company,
of someone always glad to see me
every single day without fail.

I don't need anyone to tell me
this grief is smaller than other griefs.
Since when, in matters of grief,
does size matter?

Your tender mercies are over all Your works.
Not just the human ones.
All of them.

So let this grief count.
Let me miss the sound of their paws,
the weight at the foot of the bed,
the small joy that asked for so little
and gave so much.

Thank You for that whole life,
short as it was next to mine.

Be near me in this sorrow
whatever its measure.

Amen.