Julee and I want to thank you for your incredible outpouring of prayer and support for us and for our golden retriever, Millie. The surgery to remove her spleen last week went well (thank you, Dr. June), and we are waiting for the pathology report on the mass that was also removed.
Still waiting, I should say, not just for the science but for the answer to our prayers. And that’s the hardest waiting of all.
Like most of you I pray regularly, often for the same general things—the health and well-being of friends and family, a blessing for someone who is wrestling with a particular challenge, gratitude for the gifts God has given me—then just move on, assured that God has gotten my message. Like an assembly line.
But there are those prayers like the ones of the past week when I beg God for an answer, any answer, even if it’s the one I don’t want to hear. Because I need to know that He is listening and that come what may, He will be by my side and with Millie and Julee. A lifeline through whatever difficult path that may lie before us.
That waiting is so hard for me. My impatience is self-centered. I want my answer now. Yet deep in my heart I know God answers prayers at the moment we are most ready to hear him.
Startlingly that moment came while I was writing this. The pathology report confirmed Millie has cancer, a form that is not very treatable. There are many next steps to consider. And many more prayers to say, and answers to be listened for, and a dog to love for however long we may have her before God gently takes her home.
God bless you all for your prayers.
