Daily Devotional for October 11, 2020
The Loss
Sophia snuggled close to her mom as tears ran down her cheeks. “Mom, why did Gumdrop have to die? I didn’t even have her for very long!”
Mom wiped her eyes as she held her daughter. “I don’t know, Sophia. You did such a good job taking care of your hamster. I want you to know it’s not anything you did. Dwarf hamsters don’t have a long life span. I know how much you loved her.”
“She was the best hamster ever.” Sophia sniffled. “I don’t think I will ever be happy again. Why did God let this happen? I’m so sad, and I’m mad at Him right now!”
“That’s understandable, sweetie. It’s hard to lose something we love so much. I lost my cat when I was about your age, and I remember crying for days. You have such a big heart for God’s critters, and you do an excellent job caring for them. Have you tried to pray about it?”
Sophia looked up at her mom. “You prayed for me earlier, remember?”
Mom smiled. “Yes, but I was wondering if you had talked to Jesus about your feelings yourself. He is big enough to handle our anger, sorrow, and pain—He knows how we feel because He experienced those things Himself when He came to earth to die for our sins. We can be honest with Him. The Bible tells us God sees and cares about our trouble and grief. Psalm 10:17 says, ‘You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry.’”
Sophia sighed. “Mom, do you think Gumdrop will be in heaven?”
Mom gave Sophia a squeeze. “I don’t know about that, but remember what Jesus said about the sparrows in Matthew 10?”
“You mean, how one sparrow won’t fall to the ground without God noticing?”
“Right! God cares about animals, even the smallest sparrow. And if that’s true, think how much more He cares about us! If He sent His one and only Son to die for us, we can trust Him to be with us when we’re hurting, knowing one day He will wipe every tear from our eyes and make everything right.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Sophia said as she stood up. “I’m going to go talk to Jesus.” • Savannah Coleman
How about you?
Have you ever lost a furry friend or some other pet that you loved and cared for? Loss is a hard thing, and it can take time to deal with grief. There will be pain, trouble, and death until the day Jesus wipes every tear from our eyes. Until then, we can bring our sorrow, anger, and loss to Him with confidence. He hears our cries and promises to care for us in our grief.
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