Have you experienced the support of a fellow Christian in bearing your burdens? BIB 536 - Session 08-3

Since leaving my church family in Arizona I’ve stayed in close contact with a very good Christian friend Jeanelle by way of telephone. Jeanelle is the leader of a Bible study that I’ve attended in Arizona the last few winters. She is truly one of those totally giving people who usually thinks about everyone but herself.
Rather than going into details about any human to human problems, this is about my dog Phoebe and how Jeanelle is helping me. Dogs have always been a big part of my life. 20 plus years ago I would get up in the morning and sit on the top step of my loft bedroom with my arm around my German Shepard mix AJ. AJ and I would just sit quietly with our heads together supporting each other as we started the day. AJ was getting older and suffering from hip dysplasia common with shepherds. I struggled with the thought that I should have her put down and then one day AJ went to sleep and didn’t wake up. I still grief for her but at least I didn’t have to have her euthanized. Now years later I have another aging dog named Phoebe, an Irish setter mix. Phoebe has been the four legged love of my life for nearly one and a half decades. We’ve traveled the country together since she was weaned and she has been my loyal companion and protector while on the road.
That same Phoebe who would look like a blaze of fire when she ran can now barely walk. She falls down and I have to help her up. As I watch her struggle I realize that I should let her go. I’ve been in contact with a veterinarian clinic where she can be euthanized and cremated but I just can’t seem to make that final commitment. Phoebe is a comfort to me as she lies close to my work area and sleeps and sleeps and sleeps. I pray that soon God will take Phoebe as he did my AJ.
So where does my Christian friend Jeanelle fit into all this? Jeanelle has a pray group back in Arizona praying for Phoebe, not that she will get better as that ship has sailed, rather that she will go to sleep one night and not wake up.
Being so invested in the emotional pain of needing to let go of a loved but aging dog probably seems rather frivolous and self-absorbed as we finish the book of Galatians. Paul made so many sacrifices for others and ultimately gave his life. However, my example is to demonstrate how Christians can help each other with seemingly little burdens as well as with the major ones.