March 9, 2023

Never Say Never

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

Most of us are familiar with this saying, and also with “never say never.” Recently we got a reminder in our own life. Our daughter, Katie, was changing jobs and would begin to work from home. Since Laura is now 8 and Jack 6, they thought this might be a good time to get a dog.

Katie did a lot of research and found a rescue pup about 9 months old. He was crate trained and also knew some basic commands. This sounded like a perfect fit. What they didn’t know was that he was a very timid dog.

They live in a very busy neighborhood with loads of kids coming and going all the time – chaos ensued. Their family came to our house with the pup (whom Laura had named Sprout because his hair stuck up all over the place) the beginning of November to say goodbye to Ben as he left for his year-long mobilization in El Paso, Texas.

It was evident that this adoption was not working – Katie was upset, the dog was upset, but she would have felt terrible if he had to be put back “in the system.” He was such a nice little dog and just needed quiet and some confidence.

Long story short: Dave and I had a talk and told her to leave him with us, and we’d see what we could do. Our dog, Jax, (somewhat reluctantly) approved. The funny thing is, we always said we’d never have 2 dogs, and the next dog we got would definitely not be a terrier. Well, we are now a 2 dog family with a terrier mix.

The good thing is that Scout (had to change his name since Dave couldn’t remember Sprout easily) did not have to go back to a shelter, Katie and her family can still see him and we have an affectionate new member of the family. Even though we try, we cannot predict the course of events, it seems better to leave it in God’s hands – He always makes the best choice.

Sue DeWitt

March 31, 2022

God Moments

“We make our own plans, but the Lord decides where we will go.” – Proverbs 16:9 CEB

“You’re entering hospice. You know what that means, right?”
“In-hospital hospice is only an option if we have to support you medically, so you’ll need to leave soon, OK?”
“Do you want to go to a facility or home? At home you control your visitation policy.”
“Oh, by ‘leave soon’ we mean tomorrow would be great if you can… or the next day. Take your time, no rush.”

Now, these are not direct quotes. In fact, they only reflect how we were feeling, not what was said or how it was intended. Still, that’s where we were. Dad was going into hospice and we had to make arrangements – now.

Clearly God was in the timing: my company had just closed down for the week as an employee appreciation holiday. Jennifer Landin had just told us of a great home-care service. Priscilla van Horne had just reminded me that Greg Solecki had run the Henry Ford Hospice program. Pretty amazing timing. Or Serendipity. Or Providence.

It was the best of timing, it was the worst of timing (sorry, Mr. Dickens), but – as I’m coming to realize more and more – it was God’s time, and God’s timing.
As I’ve told many people, this was not something anyone wants to go through; but the support we got from family, church, hospice, and home care meant I couldn’t imagine its being a better experience for us, and mostly that went for Dad too. Right to the end he was still himself, trying to make those he loved feel better, be happy, know they were loved, but trying to come to grips with timing that was out of his hands.

We really don’t like not being in control, but the fact is that we aren’t. I need to work on accepting that things will happen in God’s timing, and that will always be better than my timing would have been. I need to work on that. I really do.

Father, keep us aware that You are the one directing our steps and days. We thank You for watching over us, for planning for our good, and for receiving us always in the name of Jesus. Amen

Charlie van Becelaere