On this day in December of 2019, before all this upheaval of the pandemic, I sat next to a frozen city lake in Fort Collins Colorado with my dog Leo who just started chemotherapy for his deadly lymphoma.

It was a quiet morning where ducks and geese were coming and going as we watched. I found a little church in the yellow pages, and decided we were going to attend, both of us. As I watched Leo taking it all in, I wondered if he really understood what laid ahead of him.
As the words of Jesus encompassed me, “don’t worry about tomorrow, take care of today”, an appreciation of God came to light. Leo was still with me! His prognosis of not making it through November came and went. He was also eating again, and things were peaceful.

I think it was those words, which then helped me from looking forward with Leo, but just appreciating each day he was still alive with me. We went to the little church for the first time, it would be Leo’s first time ever in a church. I was pleasantly surprised that they took us right in, and no one asked “why is this dog here”. Rather, they greeted us as if we had been going to this church for decades. This was God’s provision.

I could not help but focusing on those words from Jesus “take care of today”. No longer would I worry about when we could return home some day or if Leo would make it, it was all about slowing down and just appreciating each day.

By the church we attended, God reminded me He was always there with us, so what was there to fear. Although by worldly standards and expectations, it would have been seen as an ordinary day. But to Leo and I, it was an extraordinary day by the grace of God, a great day!

God also taught me by this experience, it was ok to be sad that Leo would be leaving me some day, but the sadness would never incapacitate me because God never would leave. So I should not dwell on being sad, but the comfort from God instead of which He was handing out.

On the bleakest of mornings, God will show you His greatness!