Welcome Guests

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
  my hope comes from Him.
  He alone is my rock and my salvation;
  He is my fortress; I will not be shaken."
                                        Psalm 52:5-6

     How grateful I am for the Lord and His patience with me!  Sometimes when I want to have a pity party, He just gently says all right--let Me show you who to invite.  This week the "guests" were our veterinarian and a guest speaker at school.

     Now Maggie is our 7-year old boxer that this family adores.  Jim and Hunter picked her out of a backyard full of boxer puppies when she was just eight weeks old.  Basically she rules the house and lets us stay with her, but she is a sweet and faithful companion. For several weeks she has had "itching issues"--just scratching and gnawing on herself all the time. (Her jingling tags would even wake me up in the night.)  Hunter bathed her; we checked for fleas and found none (thank you, Lord!), yet we couldn't find the source of her itching.  I knew I needed to take her to the vet, but I kept postponing.  Saturday I realized why.

     I walked into the vet's office, explaining Maggie's problem while I signed in.  Then as soon as I sat down, it hit--the ambush.  This was one of those many tasks that Jim handled.  He had always taken her to the vet--for shots, for check-ups or whatever.  Through the years I have only been a handful of times.  Out of nowhere the tears fell, and the sweet new vet thought I was crying over Maggie.  (Later I realized that perhaps subconsciously I might have been afraid that something was seriously wrong with her.) After I told my story, she left and brought in Dr. Fuller, the wise owner of the clinic. In his compassion he shared his story--the loss of his dad when he was sixteen and how God's grace had been sufficient through the years. He reassured me that the Lord would restore joy in our lives. With a thankful heart I left the vet clinic, having once again heard the voice of hope from one who has traveled this road of grief. Not until I was pulling out of the parking lot did I notice the sign I've seen for years and smile: "Hope Animal Clinic."  Surely it is aptly named! (And it seems that Maggie simply has allergies. She's been on a steroid and an antibiotic this week, and she's much better.)  We are both resting better, too!

   Monday and Tuesday Hoover High hosted a young man who was paralyzed in a car accident several years ago when a drunk driver hit him.  He has written an autobiography entitled Still Standing, which we teachers had read to our advisor classes during the first nine weeks.  Dwight's story is riveting: he was a second year teacher headed to school in August 2005 when the accident occurred.  Looking at pictures of his car, you know God's first miracle was that he survived the crash at all.  Much of the next year he spent in hospitals and rehab, clinging to his deep faith in the Lord and drawing strength from Him and his family.  Since that time he has committed to speak to countless teenagers across the country warning them about the dangers of drinking and driving. However, his message ran much deeper.  A couple of the nuggets he shared: "My mama always said the only disabled people in this world are the ones who don't have a relationship with the Lord."  (Amen!) He also said, "Clearly I am physically paralyzed, but there are people walking around everywhere who are spiritually and emotionally paralyzed.  If given the choice, I would take this wheelchair any day--because I have joy in my heart every day."  Wow--his inspiring message served as a beautiful reminder of the power of the Lord to work good in devastating circumstances as he offered hope to a gym full of young (and a few old!) people. 

     I have learned that bad days are inevitable from time to time--even when we're leaning on the everlasting arms.  How grateful I am though that the Lord is so gracious to sprinkle our paths with those who love Him and serve Him through their encouraging voice of hope. These welcome guests turn a pity party into a celebration, reminding us to look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith and our hope. May we in turn bring an offering of hope to others.   


"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful."
                 Hebrews 10:23