He Gives & Takes Away: The Legacy of Resilience

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 transcend 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 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 in New York, visited a vet for a health check-up, and then flew to Los Angeles when the weather was warm enough. Those two little West Highland White Terriers were just about the cutest things to come into our household, aside from our beautiful Missy, whom we lost after eleven and a half years.

Of the two Westies, Emily was clearly the leader of the pack, and her sister Daisy was benevolent enough to let that happen. Daisy was gracious of spirit from the day we first met her. She 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 considered 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 died at the age of two and a half years. She had a rare kidney disease, which took her down. Her last good day with us was Father's Day 2002, and she spent it floating with Don in the swimming pool. She died one week later.

After Emily died, Daisy remained extremely sad, and it became evident if we didn't find another Westie quickly that we risked losing her also. We rescued a male Westie with a heart defect, MacGregor. He took to us right away and us to him. He had surgery on his heart one year after we adopted him, and is currently as healthy as he can be. Daisy never liked floating, but now floating with Don is her favorite activity, and she is teaching MacGregor to enjoy it too. Daisy never liked standing on the step in the pool, but loves to stand there now, and has taught MacGregor to do the same. Daisy never howled like a siren, but now launches a high-pitched howl every time she hears a siren. While Emily was alive, she didn't engage in any of these behaviors. Emily taught her, and so Emily's legacy still lives on through Daisy, and now through MacGregor. It's the same way with people and families. We may not realize it at the time, but our families and others influence us. 

God and His Word also influence us. Nothing gives me more peace than to know that God loves me despite all my flaws. God had not tested me severely for a while until a year ago, when I thought Don might die. I know I might not be able to say this again 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 had 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. I'm simply a composite of all the people I admired. God is at the center of who I am. I have dwelt with Him and now he dwells in me. That is one more reason to spend time in His Word: to gain resilience.