Sometimes we need to look back on life to see God’s hand in it!

On December 1, 2019, I packed up my truck and my dog Leo who was diagnosed with lymphoma to venture to the state of Colorado where he could possibly receive life-saving treatment. This was no mere easy venture, as this all came suddenly on me, and had to basically plan on being away for 2-3 months.

I not only had to quickly pack up my life, my business, get my house in order, but also try to keep Leo alive and healthy enough to get to Colorado. Combined in this was my Mom who just returned home from a devastating car accident by which she broke her back and neck, so also making sure her home was in order and she would get the help she needed while I was away was also on my mind. My house looked like it was hit with a literal tornado, as I frantically tried to get things we needed packed up, as well as tying up all the loose ends before we left. This also combined with Leo’s oncology visits in MN before we left and making sure his meds were secured for the trip.

So what I did? I placed it all in God’s hands. It trusted that if this was His will, it would be just fine. In my former life, things would have been MUCH different. I probably would have most likely thought of my well being first and all of the above I described would have been much too burdensome. Leo’s life would have been secondary while I complained and begged for sympathy from others.

The day we left for Colorado was MISERABLE, weather wise. We arose very early, Leo not feeling well at all as I packed him in the truck where he quickly dozed off. The roads were icy and snowed over for the first 150 miles. I kept thinking “if we go in the ditch, that is God saying this is not My plan”. As I listened to a Hank Williams song on the radio, another thought came to mind, “what if Leo died just like Hank did, in the backseat on a cold dreary morning”. With each mile I clung to God even harder as I knew He was present and would make it known either way.

We got to the first gas stop in Iowa where the roads finally eased up, they were clear, but the weather was still terrible. It was still dark and dreary, cold and windy. Leo mustered up enough energy to take a bathroom break. He wasn’t eating dog food, so I went to a Subway in the Truck Stop which was just opening up to see if I could just get some roast beef for him. The manager hearing my plight, gave me a cup of roast beef on them, God’s blessing.

We eventually made it to Nebraska and stopped for the night. The weather was cold and windy all the way there, as if tempting me to just give up, but we trudged through and made it to the motel. Leo, still feeling really ill, seemed to be at ease. He was still alive and believe he thought we were going hunting as we stayed in motels on our trips, so it sparked his life a bit. How we made it there in one piece is a miracle only by God’s hand!

Leo’s appointment was just a day away as we headed for our final tract to Colorado the next morning. We stopped in Sterling Colorado, where I took Leo for a little walk along a frozen stream. The weather was cold, and wondered if God could ease this up for us, but hey, we were almost to our destination, just a couple of more hours, Leo was alive, we didn’t break down.

As we arrived in Fort Collins, they had just been hit with a foot of snow! The roads were terrible! It was as if again tempting me to think this was not a good idea. But I dashed that from my mind, and clung to God. We got to the place we were going to stay for the next couple of months, Leo seemed to be in good spirits which was my indicator from God that this was all worth it.

I will just end this with the exhortation to those going through a crisis or turmoil of life, that clinging to God, trusting in Him, is imperative to get through it! Your faith will be tested, you will be tempted at every turn to JUST GIVE UP, but don’t! And then some day look back, because you will be amazed as to HOW you made it through it, and it wasn’t your will power which did this, it was ALL by the omnipotent God!