Attack, attack, attack…

There is no better word to use to describe that which happened Tuesday night.  Everything was going according to our scheduled plans for the day.  There was nothing to predict that things would end up out of the ordinary.  My wife dropped me off at the churches counseling center as I had a scheduled appointment with one on my counselees.  After dropping me off, she and our youngest son were to take Gabriel (our fifteen year old Bichon Frise) to the Vet for his annual checkup.  Thus a somewhat typical evening for our family was planned out and running according to plan.

All things went well at the counseling center, as we used no more than an hour to cover the past homework assignments and cover that which was new in the counselee’s life.  Once we were finished, I handed out and reviewed their homework assignment and then we concluded with prayer.  After letting them out, I called my wife to let her know that I was finished and that she could come pick me up when she was ready.  She said she would be there shortly so I took that time to review the notes that I had just taken that night.  Shortly became a lot longer than I thought it should be but then twenty minutes later I saw her pull up.  As I gathered my belonging to leave I noticed that she was getting out of the car to come inside.  I went to the door to meet her and look on her face was not what I had expected to see that night.  She had a look of despair in her eyes, and then I noticed the red glow about her nose and I knew something was wrong. 

She took a moment to look me straight in the eyes before she spoke.  The first words out of her mouth were’ “Gabriel was ok but...” and that “but” stopped me solidly in my tracks.  There was nothing out of the ordinary in regards to his appointment even to the point that our son had taken him outside for a short walk while my wife took care of the bill.   It was at that time that Gabe began to act differently than his normal self.  At first he just sat down and would not move, and then he experienced problems trying to stand.  What he did not know was that he was starting to display the signs of an allergic reaction.  This caused our son to immediately bring Gabe back into the clinic and it was there inside the clinic that Gabe completely collapsed, succumbing to the reaction.  The staff was quick to examine and begin to treat him and it was not long before he began to show signs of improvement.  My wife let me know that by the time she left the clinic to come pick me up from the counseling center that she could tell he was starting to feel better. 

So why the name of this writing Attack?  I chose it because this came immediately after a time of victory in the counseling room.  It came at a time when rejoicing in the Lord would normally take place.  Instead of rejoicing there is heartfelt grief and sorrow.  The sense of victory that was achieved was quickly replaced by the feeling of hopelessness.  I also believe that since we as a family had started to become more and more active in our roles within the church that it is at times like this that the enemy raises his ugly head.  His attacks most often come in an area where we least expect it. Gabriel has been in our household all of his life and is a part of the family.  So when I heard this news, it was with a “punch in the gut” feeling.

When my wife first gave me the news I could not even frame a simple sentence, it had caught me completely off guard.  All I could think was that it was “just a simple yearly checkup.”  But there she was standing there looking up at me and I could not say a word.  She went on to say that the best option for Gabe at this time was to leave him at the Vet for overnight observation to which I agreed with her.  I locked up the church office got in the car and faced the quiet and solemn drive home.  I did pray for his health needs and for wisdom for the Doctors that were treating him but more so I wanted to thank God for my wife and her support at this time.  I thanked God that our youngest son acted quickly to get Gabe back into the clinic for treatment.  I know that God is in control of all things and that all things happen for a reason.  I am well acquainted with Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  This was happening for a reason and God knew the purpose for which He had ordained it to take place.  For which again I thanked Him for a loving wife and companion who knows me well enough to know how to walk with me as we walk through this new event in our life.  We can see the hand-print of God in this episode, and we know that He will get the glory out of it.  Part of that glory will come from our letting others know about it and how we could see His hand weaving in and out of the story.  The one true fact about our Lord is that He can be seen moving about the lives of all of His children.  We may not see Him in the foreground but we can testify to the fact that He is there and moving around.  Especially now that we look back on this we can clearly see the guiding hand of God.

Another passage scripture that comes to mind at this time is one that I had just recently unpacked in a counseling session, “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths.  You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.” (Psalm 36:6, NLT)  Our God not only cares about His children, he cares about His entire creation as noted in this passage and as evidenced in our lives.  He once again is in control of all things and in loving care of all things.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:29, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.”  There is nothing that goes on in the lives of His creation that He is not aware of.  All too often we seem to walk around in a self-induced state of self-awareness which at times trumps the presence and power of God and in doing so plunges us into stages of despair as we quickly find ourselves in need of His help.  Paul assured the Philippians of this and also assures in Philippians 4:19 which says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  Paul’s confidence in this statement resonates with assurance, assurance of his God, and that same assurance needs to resonate within us are we talk to others.  How true is this and how precious this can be.  No matter when the need, no matter what the need we can be assured that “My God, that our God” can and will supply it.  Sometimes even before we are aware of it or have time to ask. 

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As an addendum to this or the lessons learned here are many as we look back at this incident in the light of Scripture.  This visit was to a new Veterinary Clinic, one that we had prayed about because we are soon to be adding a rescue dog to the family.  This incident helped us to bolster the confidence level of the choice that we made and to reassure us that the Lord was watching over us (especially Gabriel).  We have taken Gabe home and he is doing fine.  We are now anticipating the day that we bring the rescue pup into our home.