Cancer Journal #43 July 30

 The other day, I went to the vet's office to pick up some pills for our old dog.  As I was pulling out of my parking stall, I saw a concerned woman open up the hatchback of her car and I saw in there a big old dog, lying on its side with heaving, distressed breathing and a young gal in by it, tear stained face and real unhappy.  Big dogs go early.  The thought occurred to me to stop, get out and ask them if I could pray for the dog.  Like a nudge that was slight but still there, I think.  I perished that thought, chased away the nudge and finished pulling out of my stall and went on my way, throwing up an obligatory sort of a prayer thing that probably created no great commotion in Heaven.  I should have stopped.

Why didn't I?  It would have been a little weird.  It would have taxed my social skills to make the whole deal, none the less, acceptable.  Maybe you should leave people alone when they are going through canine mortality crises.  Very real chance my prayer would have made no difference.  But then, another very real chance the dog's respiratory distress would have lifted, its head would have lifted and it would have licked the girl's hand.  And the people would have known that there is a good God who had disrupted the course of nature as a particular favor them and their dog.  That is such a lovely thing to have in a person's catalogue of memories.  

I should have stopped.  Next time, I better do it.


Update:  Don't know what happened with the dog but yesterday, Jean and I were at Together Farm watching Catya's Trio* perform.  Saw a music friend who reported his daughter is in a bad medical way.  Constellation of physical problems such that treatment for one condition aggravates another condition.  If things go badly south, her life is maybe in jeopardy.  Anyway, I offered to pray for her.  I would have known that he would not be adverse but his kind of spirituality is discordant with mine;  he seeking to draw on the generalized powers out there in the universe, me seeking the power from a more individualized deity.  Anyway, I asked if we could pray for her, setting aside the discordant and the three of us did, me with my sort of prayer.  Might have let things pass if I hadn't made the confession about the dog.  I don't know now how the daughter's doing.  I do know that a medical conundrum that flummoxes the doctors presents a situation that the Holy Spirit seems to delight in.  To the extent I can discern the mood of the Holy Spirit.

*Randy Sinz does train whistle scat with this group.  I love it.

Comments

  1. JeanAugust 2, 2021 at 5:48 AM

    Love you honey!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jan CAugust 2, 2021 at 6:54 AM

    You genuinely care about people (and dogs), Charlie, and want to help them in the best way you know.

    ReplyDelete
  3. charlieschaeferAugust 6, 2021 at 6:14 AM

    Yeah, well I didn't do too well with that dog (and more importantly, its people). But yes, got to move on.

    ReplyDelete

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