In the telling of my story of God’s ability to heal, in no way do I diminish or try to compare my experience with that of someone faced with a serious or life-threatening disease/condition. Jesus takes us where we are and teaches within our circumstances. My story is, in fact, just that…mine.  I am sharing it with the hope that it will give light and encouragement to you.

Years ago my husband and I had acquired the neighborhood’s most recent victim of dog dumping: a small, handsome Chihuahua.  He was well-behaved and his antics were comical, but my other two female dogs made it clear that he wasn’t exactly the picture-perfect new housemate for them.

Hubby and Dogs

It was in those early days, with the latest addition to our family, my husband was walking with the dogs in the field near our home. The two girls were playing between themselves and darting back and forth with body-twisting contortions that only dogs can accomplish at top speeds. Our newest addition was nearby occupying himself with all the intriguing business grassland has to offer. A young neighbor driving on the adjoining road slowed her vehicle down as she saw one of the girls and our little Chi busy along the roadside. She sped up confident she had accounted for both of our pets. What our neighbor didn’t see was that the third dog had actually started to chase her vehicle. Unfortunately, our capable Corgi successfully caught her vehicle. Our dog’s body was shattered: a broken pelvis, tail, and ribs. The small SUV had rolled over her body, and the tire tracks were now ablaze on her tummy.

My husband scooped her limp body up in his arms and carried her home. The poor young driver was devastated. She was an animal lover also, and in fact, worked at a posh pet resort about 20 minutes away.

Looking back, this is where I can see God already had things working together for our good. It was early in the morning. Our local veterinarian’s hospital was not open yet. The teen’s workplace was located next to an excellent 24-hour vet hospital. She called the staff at the hospital. Through her tears and trepidation, she explained what had happened and that we were on our way with our Corgi’s frail life in the balance.

In the rear of our vehicle I began to pray aloud, asking God to be there to comfort and sustain our dearly loved pet. My husband joined in the prayers as he efficiently weaved his way through traffic. From time to time we asked God’s favor in making a path as we traveled. Favor was granted. We spoke directly to our fur-baby and asked her to hold on as I softly stroked her head which could not even hold her pale tongue in place. We would be there soon.  She was in shock, and we were numb.

There was no time to debate in my head whether my God would deliver her…and us. In the midst of the crisis, I had to lean on a God of strength and move forward in faith with the hope that there was help to be found from the staff at the veterinarian hospital. I was trembling in distress.

It’s during moments of crisis that you speak and act upon that which is at your core. Ask yourself, When rough and tumble times cross into your life, where do you look?

If we follow Stephen’s example at his stoning and death, despite what is going on in the moment, we should look up and see God’s glory. Like Stephen in Acts 7:55 (NIRV), if we see Jesus standing at the right hand of God, we will have confidence that we too have been raised with Christ – Colossians 3:1 (NIRV). Christ is our friend and savior. He is there in the midst of our troubles and will help us in our times of despair.