Dakota, our thirteen year golden retriever, is filled with absolute love for Meg and me; we often comment how we wish we could love the Lord with the same desire that he has for us. However, he is showing signs of his age. I worry about the loss his death will create in my life. So, as he and I were walking up our driveway in Tuesday’s afternoon sunlight, I prayed as I watched him moving ahead of me. I prayed that the Lord prepare me for his death, that I focus on thankfulness for life, not on the pain of grief. And I also asked the Lord’s forgiveness for the ways in which I had taken my own parents’ love for granted; not appreciated their many sacrifices for me.
I happened to look up when I finished praying. Above me, high in the sky, a hawk was flying–a relatively unusual event. As it circled, and rocked in an unusual way, sunlight shone intensely off its body and wings. I felt a moment of conscious unconscious, of being there but not there, and an overwhelming knowledge that the Lord is kind, good, and merciful. (Psalm 116:5) And, of course, whereas signs/miracles are wonderful, I am well aware that I must “live by believing and not by seeing.”
If God saved his animals out of the flood, He will always keep them with Him. I have in my years in animal rescue been privileged by the Lord to see Heaven opened for those animals that he called home. They are there with Him. He is faithful and knows our hearts.
Don't discount what you saw or what it meant to you. God sent a dove over Jesus to indicate He was pleased. God also used a dove as a signal to Noah that it was safe to leave the ark. Birds are special messengers for God! And you received a special message!