“God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.” ~ William Cowper
💐
I have to admit in recent times I’ve been waiting for God’s wonders to act upon the storms of this era.
Each passing day swamps me with a new outrage. Truly.
So you can imagine my surprise when…
Just as I was raising my fist for yet one more protest Bela Varga sent me this sweet song about his pets.
My anger just drained away.
Then, adding even more sweetness to my day, I happened upon a picture that reminded me of a very special dog.
— A dog named Boy.
The story of Boy begins in another time when another storm was raging in my life.
This scene I shall never forget:
My brothers and sisters and mother were gathered in our front room the night we got the news that dad had passed away. The six of us sat silent, all wondering the same thing:
How would we survive?
Then mother very quietly uttered a prayer we all were saying:
“GOD, HELP US ALL.”
Losing Dad put the family into post-traumatic stress, an event from which Mother never recovered.
She retreated into a protective shell, a kind of hard exterior. She buried her feelings deep inside. She took comfort from the sips she would take from a bottle hidden in her bedroom.
Life had dealt her a hard hand — widowed at 45 with five children to raise. So she hunkered down, went into survival mode, and moved heaven and earth to provide us with food, shelter and clothing. And in that, she did a truly remarkable job.
But it came with very real costs.
So often in our growing up years we were forced to find our own nurture.
But here’s the part where God moves in mysterious ways.
One night shortly after Dad’s funeral a little mutt mysteriously showed up at our back door.
Boy stayed for the next 14 years.
My God, how that dog lavished love on us. He ran around 24/7 on affection patrol, making sure we were sufficiently loved each day.
I don’t have words to express what it meant to be so enthusiastically loved.
I couldn’t help but ask: Who sent Boy to us? Who knew we were so starved for affection?
Boy turned out to be one of my great teachers.
I learned prayers are best answered when I refrain from dictating the terms and conditions of my miracles.
Let God be God.
Similarly, I remember when a dear friend of mine found a mama cat with a litter of kittens living under her porch —
— at the exact moment — she was mourning a great loss.
She gathered up this little family and made a home for them — in her home.
It became a decade-long love fest.
I make no claims of understanding of how this kind of thing happens.
I only know THAT it happens.
The common thread seems to be the intervention is always different than what we have imagined.
So this grumpy old man needs to remind himself — help is on the way.
- how it will come
- when it will come
— is not for me to know.
That it will come is the mystery of life itself.
I do, however, have one lingering question that has stayed over the years:
Who opened the door to let Boy in?
My guess is brother Kevin.
- He was the youngest,
- He was the most vulnerable,
- He was the most inconsolable.
Perhaps now when I think about shaking my fist at the heavens the better option is to find a door to open and let in the light of another wonder.
Just a thought…
Pat
💐
Here Bela shares that song of his miraculous “kids.”
We are often asked…Have you had any kids?
Well, yes…We have had quite a few.
[Verse 1]
Two wonderful Poms, a Maltese, and many a sweet Yorkie,
But the biggest heart-stealer was Luna, our cute little Morkie.
[verse 2: sung even more gently]
Always on our laps, nestled in a warm embrace,
Everywhere life took us, they had a special place.
[verse 3]
Precious little souls, innocent and pure,
Spirits so bright, love and devotion so sure.
[Chorus 1]
Shanti and Tisza,
Napu and Luna.
Napoli and Lotti,
Gidget and Bali.
[verse 4]
Beautiful Tjantik and our lovable Tjinta,
Our colorful parrots were at home in Sinajaña.
[Verse 5]
Tjinta with always something to say, would often reply,
I can talk, I can talk, …can you fly?
[Verse 6]
And we can’t forget Blackie, our Greek dog by the sea,
O σκύλος της Χαλέπας, a legend in Halepa on Kriti.
[Chorus 2]
Shanti and Tisza,
Napu and Luna.
Napoli and Lotti,
Gidget and Bali.
Tjantik and Tjinta,
And the Dog of Halepa.
[Outro]
So yes, indeed, we’ve had plenty of kids along the way,
Little souls who shared our lives and brightened every day.
Each left pawprints no passing years can take away,
And the love they gave still warms our hearts today.