Category Archives: Animals

Jack’s Lament

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It’s been nearly a year since I posted as a guest blogger on Midge’s site, but I have an important reason for wanting to write tonight.

IMG_0891Because I turned 13 in October, I am now 91 years old – and feeling my age. Like many 90-somethings, I can’t hear very well and no longer notice when someone raps on the door. The vet told Midge I have cataracts in both eyes, and one eye has a small tumor under the lid, keeping it in a constant state of irritation.

But my biggest problem is a degenerative spinal disease that causes me pain, along with arthritis that has literally frozen my back leg joints. Going up stairs is almost impossible, and I don’t like it when Midge tries to help by lifting my rear – it just hurts too much. With such bad hip dysplasia, my whole back end is in crisis.

I also have a skin disease that causes me to lose hair in big splotches, exposing raw irritation. The hair does grow back, but the infection just moves elsewhere. My heavy panting is always a problem, even in the cooler weather. And to top it all off, I’ve got a belly filled with something called fat tumors, some the size of golf balls, others like baseballs. One of those tumors near my shoulder is responsible for my limp.

And then of course there’s my doggie dementia, which I wrote about earlier. It keeps me confused and wondering what’s coming next, which isn’t a good feeling.

You blog readers have always been kind to me. That’s why I wanted to write you tonight. You see, this might be my last post.

TiredI know Midge has been agonizing about what to do with me, since she is about to leave town for quite a while and knows I’ll be searching for her every day. But I’m not the least bit worried. She shouldn’t worry, either. My life is happy and full of love, and all along, I’ve felt God’s hand of blessing on me.

A hearty thanks to you, cyber-friends, for being so good to me. And now it’s time for another deep, snoring sleep on my comfy bed.

Night-night….

God made the animals…. and saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:25)

Hand-in-Hand

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Now that the weather is warming, Emerald and I have been sharing responsibility for taking Jack on his late afternoon walk. For quite some time now she’s been pleading with me to let her hold his leash, and this week she finally became the dog-walker.

Dog-walker

Since Jack doesn’t have the energy to sprint for squirrels anymore, the odds were good that Emerald wouldn’t be dragged down the road as she clutched the leash. Nevertheless, I kept a close eye. If Jack stopped, stiffened his tail, and perked up his ears, I quickly reach down and closed my hand over Emerald’s, adding the necessary strength needed if he should bolt.

Feeling capableIt’s true that Jack no longer wastes energy on little critters, but a nice big deer is another story. Recently he spotted one well before I did, but his body language told me he was about to run. In a split second I had my hand over Emerald’s and held on tight. Though he did try, we successfully held him back…. together.

Emerald’s toddler-strength probably couldn’t even hold a chipmunk back, but when our hands were locked together, she remained safe.

What a great parallel to how God cares for us. We might be drawn into a situation that’s too much to handle, whether willingly or unwillingly, so we cry to God for help. He is willing to cover our weakness with his strength the same way my hand covered Emerald’s.

One example from my own life came during my early days of widowhood. I remember being overwhelmed by sadness, and day after day I was stuck there, feeble in every way. If it hadn’t been for God’s strong partnership (or we could say his strength wrapped around my weakness), I think I’d be in that same place still.

Each day when Emerald and I walk Jack now, she expects to hold the leash herself, blissfully unaware of any risks. “Ewa hole it,” she says. She has no idea I’m watching carefully, trying to stay one step ahead of anything that might harm her.

God does the same thing. Sometimes we think we don’t need him to cover us with help or protection. But he says, “I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” (Psalm 32:8) In other words, he’ll give us his recommendation, but if we insist on handling things our own way, he’ll step back and let us do it. All the while, though, he’ll keep an eye on us, watching for danger. I find that very reassuring.

Holding onWhere we get into trouble is when we ourselves become aware that danger is ahead but still say, “I don’t need your help, Lord.” Thankfully it takes only a few of those incidents (along with their often-difficult conclusions) to convince us that doing things hand-in-hand with him is always the better choice.

“I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” (Isaiah 41:13)

A Wintry Mix

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Today outside my windows is something weathermen call a “wintry mix.” This forecast includes a potpourri of snow, rain, sleet, ice, and hazardous driving conditions. Welcome to late-winter in the Midwest.

We’ve all heard the description of March as “in like a lion and out like a lamb,” and the weather can’t get much more beastly than it is today.

IMG_5185But on my front door is a wooden plaque that says, “Winter Welcome.” I won it in a Christmas grab bag 16 years ago and like to display it until winter finds its way out of the neighborhood. I’m not sure if the plaque is meant to welcome wintertime visitors or to welcome winter itself, but if it’s the latter, I’m going to take it down. Winter and its “wintry mix” has worn out its welcome.

Often we feel this same way about life’s struggles, especially the ones that are long-lasting and particularly harsh. It’s easy to become immersed in the misery of our troubles, and just when we think things can’t get any worse, they do. Like the deep snow outside my windows is getting slammed with an ice-coating today, a season of suffering makes us ask, “What next? Will this season never end?”

Traveling through life’s “winters” reminds me of C. S. Lewis’ books about Narnia, a magical land “where it’s always winter but never Christmas.” In other words, all the negatives of winter dominated Narnia without even the Christmas season to bring light and warmth.

Against all odds, though, Narnia’s 100-year winter did eventually melt into springtime, and it had everything to do with a lion named Aslan. In Lewis’ allegorical story, Aslan represented Jesus Christ, the only One who could rid Narnia of the evil White Witch and her desire to keep Narnia trapped in the debilitating deep freeze of winter.

AslanBut Aslan was “on the move,” and as he was, Narnia began to thaw. The warmth of spring came to the world and ruin came to the wintry White Witch.

As we slog through circumstances that feel like we’re trudging through hip-deep snow, we should remember that the Lord will, indeed, bring an end to our “wintry mix.” Along with a new season, he’ll bring relief and warmth. That’s because Jesus is on the move in our world much like Aslan was moving through Narnia. The big difference is that Aslan was a fantasy; Jesus is real.

Though our problems often come to us much like March comes “in like a lion,” according to God’s control of the calendar, they will “go out like a lamb.” And isn’t it interesting that two of the names of Jesus in Scripture are “The Lion of Judah” and “The Lamb of God.”

We go into our struggles with The Lion and move out of them with The Lamb.

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons….” (Daniel 2:21-22)