Eleven years ago, my wife and I got our first dog together, a silver lab named Cyrus Grey. He gave us all he had before his cancer overtook his body and we were forced to say goodbye to him.

During that same eleven years, my family has experienced a lot of trials related to kids and hospitals. But what does that have to do with Cyrus?

When my niece suffered a major brain aneurysm seven years ago, she spent almost a month in the ICU, surviving multiple brain surgeries and experiencing countless miracles.

I can remember coming home early one morning after standing by her bedside all night long only to find that one of our dogs must have been sick, leaving a huge mess for me to clean.

As I started cleaning, I wept.

But I wasn’t upset or frustrated, I was just grateful that I got clean up the mess. I was grateful to have a home, a family, a new baby, two great dogs, and a mess to clean up. I wished my brother and sister-in-law were facing the same level of inconvenience but instead they were keeping watch at their daughter’s bedside.

Ever since that morning, I’ve recognized the blessings in the messiness of my life. My wife and I probably sound crazy when people hear us say that “we are so grateful that we got to clean up a big dog mess.”

Cyrus started to struggle with his cancer more rapidly in the last 3 months and I was increasingly cleaning up more messes as it progressed. It was an honor to take care of him, just as he fought to be there for all of us.

Our three oldest kids joined us at his side in his final moments and it was a formative moment for them. We talked about the love we can show for our pets, and for one another, by being present, by being helpful, and by recognizing the blessings in life’s most ordinary and messiest moments.

Thanks for the blessings, Cyrus.