Ah, not so fast

I was so sure of myself. I was so sure that my dog Tweety was done, I wrote about it, I dug a grave, I prepared myself for the worst and I shed some tears. At least, I thought, her suffering would be done.

Ah, no. Tweety came home. She underwent surgery, and they removed a large growth and the next thing you know, she's limping into the house to the astonishment of Mary and I. She's back, and for a 16-year-old dog, she's doing fine, the vet said.

All that brings me to a thought about this whole end of life thing. Why is it okay, you think, to put a dog "down" to relieve it of its miseries, and yet it is so incredibly bad to talk about the same thing to older humans? I'm serious. I go into nursing homes and it is often horrendous. The smell greets you at the door. A kind of lived in hospital smell sits at the door and waits for you. Often the persons there are incapable of living without the literal assist.

But we are not allowed to consider putting an end to their suffering because we did not give them life and we can't take it away.

The Bible says God knows when we're suffering. He knew it about his people in Egypt, the Bible says. Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. "I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering," God said.

In the book of Job, we learn, "But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer.For he gets their attention through adversity."

David wrote of the issue, "My suffering was good for me,for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees."

Isaiah tells us that God suffers along with us. "In all their suffering he also suffered,and he personally rescued them.In his love and mercy he redeemed them.He lifted them up and carried them through all the years."

And Jesus, near the end of his life, knew what was to come. He said, "I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished."

What do we take from this? God knows when we suffer, so much so that He suffers along with us. He knows much about this idea of suffering because as human Jesus, he suffered. Suffering does teach us lessons that we can't learn any other way.

Having said that, what about the ultimate suffering? What about those who can't live alone? What about those who leave the world behind mentally but their bodies are wasting away?

God makes one thing clear throughout scripture. His ways are not our ways. He lets those who are near death die and he keeps some alive. Why? I don't know.

I felt oddly wrong about the idea of putting Tweety down. I felt it wasn't my moral right. Maybe that was merely a way to get out of the responsibility, but I felt it nonetheless.

Bottom line is God decided, apparently, that Tweety had more days to come. God bless her.

Those knees of her still ache, I can tell. She still coughs like it was going out of style. Her eyes are still clouding over.

But Tweety lives. Seems to me that is an accomplishment.

I figure she's gonna out-live me.