A facebook friend posted this story last week, and I was so moved, I have to share with you. A kindness like this is what continues to foster my belief that humanity is good at its core.
Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away 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, and 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 swim and play with balls. 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 a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/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 letterbox 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 were the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:
“Dear Meredith, Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her 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 you.”
Doesn’t that pull at your heartstrings in a beautiful way? It certainly made me cry. (And I’m pretty sure it will bring a tear to Neil’s eye when he gets to read this! He has a big heart that is moved by things like this.)
This was such a beautiful example of the 7th Shin Dao tenet in action – Love Freely, Love Deeply. That anonymous letter writing certainly gave their love freely to that little girl and it’s inspiring.
Do you have any stories you could share with us about kindnesses you’ve experienced or been witness to?
Hearing about these situations definitely uplifts our spirits and gives us faith in humanity. We’d love to share your stories with our readers. Write to us at info@shindao.com or call us at 403-285-5266 and share your stories by telling them to us; we’ll write your story for you!