I have a wonderful veterinarian who makes house calls, sort of
like the doctor on “Royal Pains.” Her
office is her car. It contains
equipment, medications, everything she needs to visit and treat her
patients. She prefers running her
practice this way because she can see her patients in their native habitats, so
to speak. She can take her time getting
to know them, and understanding their situations. And she gets to know their owners, too.
Last week I called her because Sadie was out of her flea medication,
and her rabies vaccination was coming due.
She came over that day and gave Sadie an exam (it turned out she had an
ear infection), gave her her rabies vaccine, and ear drops as well as her flea
and tick medication. And we had time for
a visit while she took care of Sadie.
We talked about our sons.
Mine is a wildland firefighter, and although he has moved into
management of the helitack base as he has grown older, he is still an active
firefighter. Each year the wildland
fires seem to be worse, and last longer.
The vet’s son is a Marine, off to active duty in the Middle East. How, I asked her, does she handle the
stress? She smiled at me and said,
“Faith.”
I smiled because that is my answer, too. I turned my son over to God many years ago
(he has been doing this job for over twenty years). Faith is the answer to so many problems and
questions. Faith is the answer when one
loses a beloved pet for no apparent reason.
Faith is the answer when your town is surrounded by fire. Faith is the answer when we are disabled by
illness or injury, or our child is born less-than-perfect.
We don’t know why these things happen, but we do know that faith
will see us through. We know that God
doesn’t let us suffer needlessly. There
is a community of believers, a community of fellow wanderers on the path, a
“cloud of witnesses” who have been there before us and who will follow us. They are here now. We are not alone unless we choose to be.
“For surely I know the plans
I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give
you a future with hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
Dear God, We thank you that we
are not alone, that we can depend on you, that you give us friends and family
to remind us of your presence. Help us
to trust in you. Amen
