“After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you his eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever” (1 Pet. 5:10 TLB).
We’ve entered our fifth month since welcoming Toby (our dog) into our family. This is now our third family dog. The first, named “Zoo/Zoobie,” came to us before the kids were born and stayed almost 14 years. The second, “Baylee,” came to us as an adult and stayed about 6 years. It seems I’ve always had a dog in my home. Growing up, we had a few, and my favourite was “The Fonz.” Fonzerelli passed while I was at university, and it’s the only pet I’ve ever shed tears over.
But of all the dogs that have been part of my family, I don’t think any have been as special as Toby. I’m not sure why. Maybe it's because we chose her from birth, and we followed her first eight weeks with the breeders; or maybe it’s the smile she puts on your face when you meet her. I think the biggest reason is that when I sit in my prayer chair to pray or to read, she comes up beside me and asks to sit on my lap. It makes reading hard, and drinking my coffee even harder, but I never say no. She’s entered my heart in a way no other pet has ever done.
One of Toby’s fave spots.
Because she’s captured my heart, Saturday was a trying day. Early that morning is when it started, the vomiting. I lost count at nine – the number of times we (Leona/Amanda) had to clean it up. We decided to call the vet, whose answering service clearly stated there would be a (substantial?) fee charged for a consultation on Easter weekend. We thought about waiting until Monday (very, very briefly), then called the emergency number anyway. We received some great counsel and followed it. Easter morning was probably the best meal Toby’s had to date, lean ground beef. By Sunday afternoon, she was her rambunctious self – or even more so, flying around the house like a banshee. (Is there something in the beef that only vets are aware of?) Her old self had come back to life on Resurrection Sunday.
“You have sorrow now, but I will see you again and then you will rejoice; and no one can rob you of that joy” (John 16:22 TLB).
Not lost on me is the symbolism of the grief I went through on Saturday as my puppy suffered, while there was nothing I could do. Friday, I watched The Passion of the Christ and saw images of Jesus suffering, and it pained me. Saturday, we watched the filmed stage performance of Jesus and saw images of the Christ that grieved me. All these feelings were replaced with pure joy as the images changed to that of an empty tomb. I’m filled with happiness now that Toby is back to full health, but that happiness does not compare to the blessing of knowing Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection.
One other blessing from the weekend that was not lost on me: the substantial fee for the vet counselling was waived. I paid nothing for the joy of a revived Toby. The vet paid my price. All our debts, built up because of our sin, have been paid for, by Jesus. We, followers of Jesus, have been saved from eternal suffering to enjoy eternal living – and we paid nothing! He extends His hand, offering this gift to everyone who will take it, and His hand will stay extended until you can no longer say yes.
If you have yet to do it, do it now – and say yes!
“Say a quiet yes to God and He’ll be there in no time” (James 4:8 MSG).