Post by Dennis on Mar 9, 2010 18:36:43 GMT -8
My oldest son volunteers at a dog rescue ranch in his spare time. A few weeks ago he brought home a 2 month old pit bull mix puppy that needed fostering. Of course, the little guy, whom we named Boomer, wormed his way into our hearts, and this is now his home. Last Friday he received his first rabies vaccination. It turns out he's allergic to rabies vaccine. Over the course of the following 8 hours he deteriorated to the point that by 10:00 PM he vomited, stopped breathing, and passed out. We managed to revive him. I drove to a 24 hour pet hospital while my son held him. During the drive Boomer stopped breathing several times, and Matt had to wake him up. The hospital kept him overnight on oxygen, giving him Benedryl and a steroid injection. We brought him home the next morning (we couldn't afford to keep him at the hospital any longer; the financial charges at those places add up like you wouldn't believe!) We expected him to die at any moment, he was just skin and bones, wouldn't eat or drink, just slept all the time.
Now, I should explain that when something like this happens, my habit in the past has been to plead, with tears and a broken heart, with the Lord to restore him to health. On Monday, while at work, I was praying thus, when the Lord impressed on me that this is not what he was wanting from me. I was praying from a place of sorrow and gloom, not faith, hope, and expectation of Him keeping His word. It was a kind of...oh, what's that word, where you suddenly see things in a new light, and wonder why you didn't see them before...it'll come to me, probably right after I finish this post. Anyway, I immediately took authority over the spirits of sorrow and depression, then prayed from a position of authority, faith that He loved me, my family, and the puppy He had brought into our lives, and hope in Him doing what He promised He would do for all those living in the house of a believer.
Yesterday, Boomer ate a little bit of soft dog food, and drank some water. Today (Tuesday) he ate a lot of sliced ham lunch meat, a lot of a better quality soft dog food, and is drinking a whole lot of water. His stamina is noticeably increased (much to the chagrin of the cat), and his ribs aren't showing so much.
I share this so others might learn what I learned: When things are not going well (actually, really badly), don't give in to sorrow and tears. Stand in the authority God expects from His more mature children, and pray in faith and hope and trust that He will do far more than we expect.
Now, I should explain that when something like this happens, my habit in the past has been to plead, with tears and a broken heart, with the Lord to restore him to health. On Monday, while at work, I was praying thus, when the Lord impressed on me that this is not what he was wanting from me. I was praying from a place of sorrow and gloom, not faith, hope, and expectation of Him keeping His word. It was a kind of...oh, what's that word, where you suddenly see things in a new light, and wonder why you didn't see them before...it'll come to me, probably right after I finish this post. Anyway, I immediately took authority over the spirits of sorrow and depression, then prayed from a position of authority, faith that He loved me, my family, and the puppy He had brought into our lives, and hope in Him doing what He promised He would do for all those living in the house of a believer.
Yesterday, Boomer ate a little bit of soft dog food, and drank some water. Today (Tuesday) he ate a lot of sliced ham lunch meat, a lot of a better quality soft dog food, and is drinking a whole lot of water. His stamina is noticeably increased (much to the chagrin of the cat), and his ribs aren't showing so much.
I share this so others might learn what I learned: When things are not going well (actually, really badly), don't give in to sorrow and tears. Stand in the authority God expects from His more mature children, and pray in faith and hope and trust that He will do far more than we expect.