Finding God in Our Pain Sherrie Pilkington

My guest, Rachel Shirley is a Certified Professional Coach and Pet Loss Grief Companion and she’s here today to talk about her book, Pet Loss and Divine Healing - A compassionate Guide for navigating your Devastating Loss.
When Rachel and I were connected up I was so excited to learn that there is true support for those who are grieving the loss of a beloved pet. I love my pets but I’m also one who tries to just push through my grief possibly because I’ve bought into societies value system with regard to grading the level of importance when it comes to death. I don’t really know why I try very hard to push through the death of my pets
Every time I’ve lost a pet I am utterly heartbroken but I never take the time to grieve like I need to and with each passing pet loss my grief seems to get more difficult and more difficult. I had my 13 year old, little 5lb Yorkiepoo put down in March of 2023 and it broke. My. Heart.
So much so that I kept feeling like I wanted to cry the whole time I was talking with Rachel and even now tears are threatening to start but as usual I’m holding them back as I do this intro.
Something that is in the distance for me is that I currently have 2 senior dogs who are each 11 years old and a cat who is 7 years old. Flesh or fur we never get them as long as we want them so it is inevitable that I will have to lay them to rest some time in the near future. The thought of that causes me to struggle with whether or not I’ll get any more animals. I just don’t know if my heart can take it.So when I learned there is grief support I knew I wanted to share this with you, my listeners!
Rachel is someone who cares about your beloved fur baby and she can help you navigate this painful season. As soon as Rachel starts talking you’ll be able to tell that she’s comforting and kind, two wonderful traits that let you know you can trust her with your pain and that she’s genuinely there to help heal your broken heart. She knows your pain firsthand because she lost her beloved fur baby, Winston.
We delve into all the aspects of her book which, in my opinion cover the full scope of what someone will go through when they lose a pet. I can’t think of a topic in her book that she left out right down to the last chapter where it addressed the los of various professions that either care for dogs like veterinarians as well as dogs who serve their community both professionally and personally to include military, police, support animals. But she didn’t stop there, she brings these additional topics to the table…having to euthanize a pet due to financial or behavioral issues, a pet who died of a tragic accident.
She addresses people who do not have children and she wraps up her book by sharing first-hand stories from her clients.
Some of the topics that Rachel and I talked about were how does one process grief for a pet, the importance of a bond between human and pet, is there a right way or wrong way to grieve, honoring your precious fur baby and we didn’t side step the debate about pets going to heaven.
At one point Rachel and I talk about our pets being a gift form God and how much they embody His spirit of unconditional love, joy, and tangible affection. We refer to God reveling Himself through our pets…I even said that His spirit shows up in animals…but to be clear I’m not saying that God is a dog or is a specific animal I’m saying that God uses our pets and any animal he wants to speak to us….like the Balaam’s donkey in the book of Numbers 22:21-39 - not only did the donkey save Balaam’s life because God reveals Himself to the Donkey… but God also opens the donkeys mouth and he spoke truth, common sense to Balaam. So when/if you hear me say that God is like a dog or a cat etc. I’m not saying He is an animal but that He uses His creation to reveal His nature and give tangible ways that we can experience His character.
If you’re grieving the loss of a precious pet, I hope that wh

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