Almost two weeks ago, on a Friday, we (Tim, myself and Madi) went for a walk around the beautiful IU campus, complete with chasing of bunnies and stopping for frozen yogurt. It was a beautiful night, and reminded me just how much I love my little family.
That night, I noticed Madi was limping a little. By Monday, we had decided to at least take her to the vet to make sure nothing too major was going on. When she was just 10 months old, our little Madi-dog had surgery on one of her knees. In the last three years, I think Tim and I were both waiting for the other "knee" to drop. I was a bundle of nerves as we waited at the vet. But, Dr. Victor didn't think it was worth pursuing surgery yet. Let's give her some anti-inflammatories and see if she does better. Happier words couldn't have been said.Fast forward to last night. I get a text from Tim on my way home from a late-night meeting saying he and Madi had just had an awesome round of GTP (get the puppy). I was so happy my little Madi was back to herself and made a mental note to call the vet and ask how much longer we needed to keep her on the meds. I let her out one more time to go to the bathroom before bed. A pained yelp. More limping than I had ever seen. Another vet appointment his morning. Today, the diagnosis wasn't nearly as good. Torn/Ripped/Damaged ACL (no, I didn't even know dogs had ACLs). Medication and rest immediately prescribed (have you met my high-energy dog??). Surgery up to us.
So, now we are faced with a decision: go through the prescribed 8 weeks of keeping her medicated and resting as much as possible and see if it helps. Or, schedule the surgery, undergo the stress of her recovery, and be done with it, hopefully fixing the problem for good. It's a big decision, and one we're not rushing to make quickly. We're going to give it a couple weeks. See if she feels any better (even though seeing her in pain breaks my heart into a thousand pieces).
So, that's the story. Here's where the prayer comes in. Every day for almost two weeks, I have been praying for my dog. At first, I felt silly. I mean, there are huge, massive things happening in the world. There are children dying of starvation and people being sold into human trafficking. There are floods and wars and hate and violence. There is so much BIG stuff going on in the world, why am I "wasting my time and God's" by praying that he would give comfort and healing to my little 10-lb, 4-year old friend? But still, I pray. And I ask those I love for prayer as well. And today I was reminded by a dear friend that there are no little prayers in God's eyes. He loves for us to go to Him with everything, from the big, life-changing things, to the little, please protect and heal my dog things. I was reminded that the God I love is a God of joys and sorrows, a God who gave me the capacity to cry tears of sadness because a little creature I love is hurting. He is a God who loves me, and therefore, loves my little dog. When I took to twitter, my dog-loving and non-dog-loving friends alike responded with promises of prayers, reminding me that there are a lot of people that do the same and don't think less of me for asking for prayer for something so "small" as our little Chi.
So I sit here, ready to go home and cuddle her before heading back for Easter rehearsal, thankful. Thankful for friends who love me and by extension my family (Tim and Madi). Thankful for people who understand how important she is to us. Thankful for a husband who told me today that owning a dog is one of his favorite parts of life. And, mostly, thankful for a God who hears my small prayers and honors them. Maybe not with miraculous healing, but He never promised that. He hears my prayers, calms my heart, and gives me the strength to go through another day, my loving, limping dog by my side.
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