He Gives and Takes Away

As a believer, the one thing that I pray for most of all is acceptance of God's will. I want to welcome the testing, and know that I won't always feel the pain of humanness, but be transcended to a better place in the future. We have something to look forward to when we die. I care whether or not I cause a change in my earthly journey, otherwise, why did I even come here? I think about everything. My mind is my nemesis and blessing. That's often the way it is with a blessing from God. It's often, too, why we love someone. We're attracted to a characteristic, which later we find to be a downfall.

Daisy Lou and Emily Lou traveled from Ireland to be a part of our animal family. They were only six weeks old when the kennel owner brought them under the front seat of the airplane to La Guardia Airport in New York. They rested for four days, visited a vet for a health check-up, and then flew to Los Angeles. These two little West Highland White Terriers were just about the cutest things to ever come into our household, aside from our beautiful Missy, whom we lost after eleven and a half years.

Of the little Westies, Emily, was clearly the leader of the pack, and her sister, Daisy, was gracious enough to let that happen. Daisy had a graciousness about her from the day we first met her. She'd always let Emily have her way, even when she knew Emily was wrong. Emily loved to float with Don on the floater in the pool. She loved to swim, which is something our vet had assured us these two dogs would never want to do, there in the name "terrier," of the earth. Once Emily received permission to go into the pool by the removal of her collar, there was no stopping her. She'd dive in repeatedly, swim the length of the pool, climb out, and dive in again. She absolutely loved the water! She could even climb up on the floater in the pool without help!

Daisy didn't like the water at all, but Emily taught her to like it. If Emily floated, Daisy would consider floating, too. It wasn't second nature to Daisy as it was with Emily. The sound of sirens was something that drove Emily to distraction. She'd launch a high, screaming howl that was enough to break your eardrums! We never witnessed such an event with Daisy while Emily was alive. Sadly, Emily was taken from us at the age of two and a half years. She had a rare kidney disease, which took her down. Her last day with us was Father's Day 2002, and she spent it floating with Don in the swimming pool.

After Emily died, Daisy remained extremely sad, and it was evident if we didn't find another Westie pronto that we risked losing her also. We rescued a male Westie with a heart defect. He took to us right away. He had heart surgery one year after we found him, and is now currrently as healthy as he can be. Daisy, who never liked floating, now floats around the pool with my husband, and is teaching Gregs to do the same. Daisy, who never liked standing on the step in the pool, loves to stand there now, and has taught Gregs to do the same. Daisy, who never howled like a siren, launches a high-pitched howl every time she hears a siren. While Emily was alive, she didn't engage in any of these behaviors. I think that Emily taught her, and so Emily's legacy still lives on through Daisy, and now through Gregs.

It's the same way with people and families. We may not realize it at the time, but we're being influenced by our family's presence and the people around us. More than that, I pray that we are influenced by God and His Word. Nothing gives me more peace than to know that God loves me despite all my flaws. It has been a while since God has tested me severely, and it happened last weekend when he threatened to take my husband from me. I know I might not be able to say this again for certain in the future, but when I thought I was going to lose my husband, I realized that I loved God more. That's something for which I have been praying for many years. I had to thank God for the testing. It gave me renewed confidence in my faith. My father is gone. He died in 2004, and yet part of him lives on in me, the "never give up" part. He taught me in life, and he taught me through his death. In the end, I'm simply a composite of all the people I chose to admire, and they have become part of me. God is at the center of all of who I am. I dwelt with Him and now he dwells in me. And, that's more reason to spend time in His Word: to gain resilience.