We said goodbye to Jethro last week. He came here as a tiny puppy and had lived at our house for almost twelve years. He was hit by a truck and could not get well. The veterinarian said this was the best thing for him. When he gave him a shot, I held his chin in my hand and scratched his long floppy ears. While I looked in his eyes and talked to him, I felt the weight of his head in my hand and saw his eyes close. And yes I cried when RoRo died.

Jethro loved to ride on the four wheeler and the golf cart belonged to him. He tolerated children and loved to bark at cats. A tricolored basset hound mix he had long toenails that he used to dig up flower beds. He could aggravate the daylights out of us, but we loved this old hound dog. I buried Jethro beside the door to my study. We planted flowers in the fresh dirt that he lay under. Since he had dug up so many flowers in his lifetime, we decided that it was only right his final resting place should be a flower bed.

If you have ever loved a dog, you know they can teach you a lot. I think the most important thing they teach us is how we should love and worship our Master. You see that is what a dog does to you. He loves and worships you. He does this unconditionally, desiring nothing from you, only wanting to be in your presence. Isn’t our Father in Heaven worthy of our unconditional love and worship?

Jethro had one last thing to teach me. As I dug his grave, I realized it was already prepared, I was just removing the dirt from it. I was reminded of these words from Hebrews 9:27 “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” The truth for all of us is this. Our grave is already prepared, just waiting for the day when someone will remove the dirt and place us in it. So be prepared for the Judgment. Trust Jesus for salvation and love Him with all your heart. Because He is worthy of your unconditional love and worship.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

Email-pavementendsministry@gmail.com