A Dog Tale

I now live with a friend of mine who has a ministry of rescuing stray dogs from the streets of Puerto Rico. She takes them in and watches them for a few days-checking out their behavior and a few other things. Then, she takes them to the vet to get all of their shots up to date and to have tests run for Heart Worm, etc... If they have not been sterilized then she makes sure that they get "fixed" as well. After they have a clean bill of health, she adopts them out to loving families. Most of the dogs are actually shipped to a couple of shelters in the United States where they find new warm and loving homes.

A few weeks ago, a guy from the streets who helps my friend clean the dog crates stood at our gate and begged her to take his mom's dog. Princesa, a real live ankle bitter....I mean chihuahua...looked like the majority of all of the other dogs who come through this ministry. They are extremely thin and in need and a great amount of TLC. So, we took her in. I took a picture of her and showed her to some friends who are actively searching for a second dog. I told them that after she goes to the vet for a check up- she would be all theirs. In the mean time, my friend and I began dreaming of the great life that she would have and how spoiled she would be with our friends who love and adore the dog they already have. Princesa would live a life fitting to her name- a Princess. A few days after her arrival she had blood in her urine so my friend took her to the vet. ( I guess you could say that this is one of the other things that she looks out for.) It seemed that she was more sick than we thought but that didn't stop us from dreaming for her. After a week or so, she came home from the vet and while she was still sick- she began to perk up and make herself at home. She really enjoyed having her own house and being inside with the indoor dogs. She spent her days hanging out on the back of the couch, soaking in the sun rays by the back door, and lying on the middle of a big doggie bed by my friend's computer. She ordered off of the gourmet menu eating things like soft dog food, rice, yogurt, little pieces of cheese and ham from our sandwiches and her favorite-hot dogs! Mmmm....she was preparing herself for a life of luxury after have been a tied up macasina (carport) dog all of her life.

On Tuesday morning, her breathing became labored and my friend decided to take her back to the vet. On the way, Princesa breathed her last breath. We were all shocked-even the vet who knew how bad she had been. He thought that she might have been poisoned and asked my friend to bring her to the office for an autopsy. He called today and gave us the report. The heart worm that she had tested positive for had been far to advanced. For those who don't know heart worm is a parasite that lives within the heart of a dog. Worms grow and multiple within the dog slowly choking the life out of the heart if left untreated. Dogs get infected when a mosquito bites an infected dog and then bites an uninfected dog during a later feeding. Because the heart worm had been left untreated for so long, there was nothing that we could have done; and it was a sad day at the ranch. Despite the sadness, we have been able to look at the brighter side and celebrate that in Princesa's last days, we were able to give her the life that we dreamed of for her. She died a very happy and very loved dog.

Now, why tell this dog tale? Well, I think it causes us to stop and reflect on a couple of things. You see, if we are not careful, we can get bitten by an infected mosquito; and then we will begin to grow a parasite that may eventually choke the life out of our hearts if left untreated for to long. As we are approaching Good Friday in just a few hours, I'm thinking that is not what God wants for us at all!! Scripture tells me in the famous verse (John 3:16) that "God so loved the world that He sent his only son so that none shall perish but have ever lasting eternal life." No where does this verse or any other verse state that God desires for us to have the life choked out us. In fact, Peter wrote that God is waiting patiently so that none shall perish.
So, what has bitten you? Who has bitten you? By identifying who or what has infected you is the first step in treating this heart killer. The power that it has over you is not as strong when you say it out loud because when it remains silent- it's a secret. A secret that Satan holds against you and torments you with. But when you have the courage to say it out loud it's liberating and you are no longer bound by your secret. This isn't about airing your dirty laundry to the world but it is about confessing your diseased heart to God- your creator and maker so He can operate on you and bring healing into your life. You may indeed decide to share whatever it is with a physical someone- someone who can walk with you on the journey. Someone who can pray for and with you. Someone who can be a vessel in which God uses but in order to bring on the healing process you must confess.

It's now Good Friday; and today we are going to remember Jesus' sacrifice on the cross- His dying for our sins, our transgressions. But, today is not the end...you see in three days, we will celebrate the Resurrection, the truth that He has risen, that He is ALIVE and that we are FREE in Him! He wants you to live like a princess or a prince. He wants you to have the best of everything- the lap of luxury! So, what's bitten you?