A Paw print forever on my heart

The speaker begins by apologizing for their absence and lost voice before praying for guidance and strength. They then talk about their recent experience of losing their beloved dog and how it has left them with a broken heart. They discuss the challenges of staying strong and positive in the face of hardship and feeling like giving up. The speaker reflects on how their prayers were answered, although not in the way they expected. They emphasize the importance of not allowing Satan to turn one away from God during difficult times. They then share a personal story of their dog's illness and the decision to say goodbye. They express gratitude for the opportunity to be with their dog during their final moments and emphasize the importance of cherishing the love and lessons animals bring into our lives. The speaker concludes by urging listeners to give their pain and grief to God and to find comfort and strength in His love. Hey there, it's me. I know it's been a while. I've been sick, and I am sorry I lost my voice, and it's still a little not to par, but I'm going to move forward and try to do this episode. So let's pray, friend. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Father, I come to you through your Son, Jesus Christ. And I look at this person. I ask that you open their ears, their hearts, and their minds, Lord. I ask that you give them wisdom and understanding, that you mend their hearts, Lord, for whatever they are going through. If their heart is broken, like mine, Father, I lift them up to you, and I ask you to mend that heart, because only you can do so. Father, I just want to say thank you, and I want to glorify you, and give you praise, because without you, none of this would be possible. And I would not be sitting here doing this without you. So I praise you, and I thank you, and I let you know that I love you, Father, in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Hey there, it's Anna with God's Podcast. In today's episode, I'm going to talk about a broken heart. It's been a week since my dog has passed away, unexpectedly, and it still hurts. My heart is broken. I was so tired and drained, if I could be honest. I am human and have hardship that hurts so much, just like everyone else. I try to continue to be strong, a warrior woman of God, and be positive, and be in God's Word daily. But I too have days where I felt and feel like I am falling apart, where I felt like I cannot keep going, like I want to give up. Have you ever felt exhausted? Felt depleted? Felt like you can't take any more? Like you are being tested beyond your ability? Friend, I too have felt this way. I too was in these emotions, but God reminded me through this horrible, heart-wrenching, I do not wish upon anyone, moment, that God is with me. That the prayers I prayed for, the prayers I begged for, that I thought weren't answered, and God didn't listen to me, or what I was crying out for, He never answered. The prayers I wanted Him to answer so badly were answered right before my eyes, even though they were not how I wanted or expected. I'm sorry, but this was very tough for me, and still is. He answered my prayers, even though it was not to satisfy me, and my flesh, and how I wanted Him to. God answers our prayers, He truly does, and I can see it now. I had to step back and realize, do not let Satan come in and turn you away from God, because he is lying to you about your God. Lying to you about what you prayed for, lying to you about trusting in God, and having faith in God. I took my eyes off of Jesus for a moment, and I started sinking in the water. When my focus needed to be on what He was exactly doing, even though it wasn't how I expected or wanted. And that is how Satan works. I'm headed to Matthew 14 verses 25 through 33. And first I want to say, Satan wouldn't do everything to distract you. I had this written out and ready to go a week ago. But then I got sick, and Satan distracted me from being able to share my love for God with you guys. So I want to remind you, continue to keep praying, continue to keep seeking, continue to have relationships with Him. Because Satan will do everything he can to distract you, and turn you away from God when you need Him the most. In Matthew 14, it talks about Jesus walking on water, and how Peter took his eyes off of Him. I'm going to read that to you. It says, Tell me to come to you on the water. Come, He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked in the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and began to sink, and cried out, Lord, save me! Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. You of little faith, He said. Why did you doubt? And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat whispered unto Him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God. I read this to you because, like I said, I took my eyes off of Jesus for a moment, and I began to sink. I began to lose my faith in what I knew God was actually doing. It happens to all of us, because we allow Satan to creep in, and allow us to doubt our God. Last week Monday, my Monday did not start out the way I prayed for that morning. I began praising and thanking God. As I woke up and walked up the stairs to start my morning, I got my coffee ready, took my dog out, like always, but he had been sick for the past couple of days. And as we were coming in, he had no more energy and collapsed. In fear, I picked him up, the best I could, the big boy he was, and dragged him inside. I could only say, I am sorry, Bruno. I love you, Bruno. And I prayed over him. I prayed God would heal him and help him, to bring him comfort, to bring him peace, and to not let him be in pain any longer. As he came to and was a little alert, I quickly grabbed my phone and called my husband and explained, I think Bruno is dying. I'm sorry, I'm going to get through this, but it's just tough, because I love that guy. I love Bruno so much. And he has been part of our family for this past decade. So it's tough. It's rough and it still hurts. But I know that he's not in any pain anymore. So I explained to my husband, we needed to take him to the vet, but I can't do it alone. I can't carry him to the car. My husband came home, and we got him to the vet, and he was not doing well. They ran their tests and x-rays. As we sat and sat and sat, they came in and gave us a glimpse of hope, only to take it away about an hour later, explaining there is really nothing that could be done to save him. All I could say was, I don't want him to suffer any longer. I don't want him in pain any longer. Before I could even comprehend what was happening. We called our kids to say goodbye, the hardest goodbye to our beloved boy Bruno. Once we were home, it was still so unreal, like a dream, like he would be waiting for us with his puppy eyes and his stubbed tail, shaking to let us know he wanted to go outside. But reality sucked in. He was gone. My big boy Bruno was gone, and we did not want him to go and leave us so unexpectedly. This is one of the hardest decisions to make, but now thinking it through, I see God's work. I see how God makes a way. God let me have empathy, compassion, and love for Bruno in making this decision, because he knew I did not want to see him suffering the way he was. He was in so much pain and helpless, and it hurt to not help him or ease his pain. Looking in his eyes and seeing him suffer stabbed my heart with aching pain. There was nothing I could do to take his pain away and make him better than bring him to the vet to see if they could help fix whatever was going on with him. As the hours went by, and all the tests being done, and seeing him endure more and more pain, looking at me with his scared eyes, I knew it was time to say goodbye and let him be free. It was overwhelming. God let me pray over him, surrender him to the Lord, and ask for him to take his suffering and pain away from him and be at peace and rest. God gave us the gift to be with him till his last breath, to empower him with love and to watch him be set free. I am thankful and I am grateful he was not alone and our whole family was able to say goodbye to our big, beautiful, handsome boy, Bruno. I want to read Psalms 69 verse 30 to you, because this is a reminder to me and it will be a reminder to you that even in the darkest times, even in the heart-wrenching pain, it says I will praise the name of God with a song and will magnify him with thanksgiving. I thank the Lord, I truly do, for easing his pain and allowing us to be with him and say goodbye because not many people get that chance. Listen, and I know to some they are just animals, but to us he was a part of our family. Bruno was a beautiful boy who loved so deeply, who protected who he loved and listened so well. He followed me everywhere, wherever I was, he was there waiting, watching to see what I would drop in the kitchen. If I went to another room he had come to or be right outside the door, he needed to be as close enough always to make sure I was okay. Listen, friend, I'm crying, I'm mourning him, I'm missing him, and I still feel like it's a dream. I still catch myself doing all the things for him, to stop myself in my tracks, to stop and say, oh, you don't believe that animals are. Wait, he's not here. It hurts still, but I am so thankful for the time I got with him since he taught me so much through the decades he loved us. It hurts so much that he is no longer with us, but I am also so honored he was part of our family when we needed him in our family. I know God doesn't just make us go through this heart-wrenching rip of our hearts to punish us. I know that it was his time to go home. No more pain, no more suffering, and maybe. Don't believe dogs or animals are part of God's promise, but I truly believe they are part of God's promise. God loves them and made them specifically and gave them to us to show them love as well as be shown a love that is absolutely so beautiful and to become part of our family. God allows us to learn from them and fill our hearts with beauty, joy, and happiness through them. God allows us to experience a love only they can give. Here are some lessons I realize I am learning, even in the heart-wrenching of pain, that I see glory even when it hurts because of the loss. Be thankful for their love they gave. Even in their absence, give praise. God gave them to you to experience their love. You can mourn, you can grieve, you can feel hurt, you can be sad, you can cry, but do not allow yourself to be stuck in that. You can't move forward. God does not want us to stay in it. He wants us to get through it. Allow him this gift and give it all to him. Surrender it all over to him so he can love you through it, so he can allow you to feel his presence and love all around you. Even though my week did not start in a way I may have wanted or even imagined or prayed for, Satan cannot take my joy, my love, or my happiness Bruno gave me or to our family. The joy of love and happiness remains in the memories we can have with our beautiful boy Bruno. God gave our family a beautiful gift and allowed us to look past our fleshly desire to keep him here with us and allow us to see God's beauty and allowing us to take all the pain and suffering away from him and set him free. God is good and was with us even though we were in pain of losing him. Our last goodbye. God knows what he is doing and I know it is his will and plan that it was Bruno's time to say goodbye as he was suffering for a long time without us knowing or letting us know she was. He held on as long as he could and I thank God for the gift of bringing us Bruno and allowing us to love him and share in his life for as long as we did. He was a perfect boy and we could not have asked for an amazing dog. Bruno, we love you always and we know you are free, beautiful, handsome boy. I thank you for listening to my story and being able to share how beautiful Bruno was. I thank you for being a part of my life and that he meant so much to us. I really hope you enjoyed today's episode and that you take the words and understanding back to God and know that even in your pain, you can praise the Lord. You can thank him because he does give us beautiful gifts even when our heart is broken. So I encourage you to share this with someone else because we all need God each and every day. We all need his encouragement. We all need his love. So share it with someone else and until next time, keep bibling, keep spreading God's word and even in your pain, praise God. Thank God for the beauty that he has given you and what you have lost. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Father, I come to you through your Son, Jesus Christ, and I lift up each and every person listening. I ask that whatever they are going through, whatever season that they are in, whatever heartbreaking moment that they may be in, that you seek them. You encourage them. You lift them up. You carry them. You get them through, Father, just like you have been with me. Father, I just want to say thank you. I glorify you and I praise you because without you, I would be nothing. But through you, I am everything. I love you and I pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.