Thursday, May 01, 2008

Random act of kindess

Okay, I admit it: I can be a sentimental old sap sometimes.

I received this story (verified as true on snopes) in an email from a friend and it made me get a little teary-eyed. I hope you all enjoy it, as I did, and that it inspires you to perform some random act of kindness today.

Letter to God

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love,
Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with this picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God in Heaven.

We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven.
That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office.

A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith, ' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God
This is one of the kindest things I've ever experienced. I have no way to know who sent it, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.

Crush du Jour: Jesse Metcalf


10 comments:

Jeff said...

Awww. Very cute story.

I loaded some love on a Bernese mountain dog puppy just outside my office this morning. Just about 9 weeks old. What a sweet bundle of fur!

cb said...

Great. Now i'm sitting here in my office crying hoping desperately that nobody catches me.

tornwordo said...

That made me well up.

Java said...

Oh wow. This one made my heart swell and my eyes well. Thanks for sharing it.

Anonymous said...

*sniffle*
...
...
..oooh. Metcalf. Woof.

...
...
..
*sniffle*

Bugsy said...

Dear Kid,

Got the pic of the mutt. Sent it on a one way trip to H*ll. D*mn dog p*ssed on my robes!

Don't bother showing up at my gates!

God

-- Sorry, in a bit of a mood.

Anonymous said...

That is sweet, much better than, "they went to a farm".

Anonymous said...

...and to finish off with another image of a dog that God created...great post.

Shauna said...

love that story and love your blog.

Anonymous said...

HI Mark.


What a touching story!!!