Exodus 4:14

".....He is already on his way to meet you....".

God anticipated that Moses would need Aaron.  He had started Moses' brother on his way to meet Moses before Moses even knew he would need Aaron.  I believe He anticipated and prepared for what I would be facing.  I believe He will anticipate your needs and prepare for you as well....if you accept Him.

When Bonnie became so extremely ill, was admitted to ICU, and appeared unlikely to live, I called Bonnie's good friend Virginia, who lives about 3 hours away from Nashville.  She was Bonnie's 'test pilot' in the fight with cancer.  She needed to know.  I also needed to tell Bonnie's good friends Tiletta and Darrell.  They live in South Dakota.  They needed to know as well.  My sister Brenda and Bonnie were best friends.  Brenda needed to know too.

What I didn't know was that Virginia and Brenda were in the car together headed to Nashville when I called.  They didn't tell me they were coming because they were afraid I'd tell them not to come.  Tiletta and Darrell were in the airport boarding a plane to Nashville when I called them.

They were "already on the way".  God knew I'd need them.  I did.

When I was in Junior High school or maybe even grade school I met a girl named Judy who went to the same church as I did.  We were friends all through High School but have not seen one another more than a couple of times since then.

We connected through e-mail when Bonnie was diagnosed with cancer.  She had been through some devastating times also.  As we corresponded, she was able to understand my loss.  She is able to understand the things that I say or do that require so much explanation to someone who has not walked this walk.  Through her understanding has come a stability for me...a reassurance.  Did God know I would need her someday?  I think He did.  Why else would we have reconnected 40+ years out of high school at the exact time I needed her?

Here is one of the 'crazy' things that I wrote to her (I hope she doesn't mind my sharing it)....I think it goes along with this entry:

Hey Judy:

Do dogs know?  Do they understand?  I think maybe they do.  I also am beginning to think God not only puts people in our path whom we need, He puts Dogs there as well.  Crazy?  Maybe.

Here is the deal......

Hobo is a mixed Beagle.  We've had him around for about three years.  I first met him as he was running down the middle of the

Natchez Trace Parkway

one cold, wet winter day as Bonnie and I travelled it to the cabin from Nashville.

He was just a cold, wet, frightened puppy.  I had to stop.  I called for him to come to me.  He was to afraid to come at first.  Then, slowly he changed his mind and came to my feet.  He laid down on his side, then his back and looked up at me.  I said (I'll never forget it) "What? Are you some kind of Hobo or something?"

Bonnie cried out from inside the car..."Oh no, you've named him!"  She knew from that instant HOBO was his name and I belonged to him.  

He has been by my side ever since.  Fishing. Travelling.  Building 2000 sq ft of deck.

Painting the dock.  Building the garage and guest quarters.  Grieving.  He has been here.

He was there for Bonnie too.  She didn't want him, but she loved him. 

He would sit on the couch after her chemo sessions.  She would rub his long, satin-soft ears and receive comfort from that.  In the end, he was her buddy too. She loved him and he loved her.

How do you comfort a grieving dog?  I have no idea.  I know he is grieving.  He is not quite the same, just as I am not.  He is a bit off kilter. just as I am.  He misses Bonnie just as I do.

When we walk in the mornings, through the fields and around the lane, we end up at Bonnie's gravesite.  He invariably is pulling, tugging, smelling every blade of grass....until we get to Bonnie.  Then, quite amazingly, he sits quietly and waits.  On me.  On her.  I think he grieves too.  He will wait quietly until I am ready to go.  Only then will he leave.

I cannot say that I know, or can even imagine, why Bonnie had to leave for heaven.  I can only say that I am beginning to realize God was, in some way, preparing me for that to happen.   There are still times when I do not think I can take another step.  There are still times when I have trouble even breathing.  But, then, I am able to take that step and that next breath (sometimes it is a gasp).  And, then there will be something that gets me through to the next one.

There are five names, actually six including Hobo's, written in the margin of my bible next to Exodus 4:14.  They are there to remind me that God anticipated my need and sent them to me...I believe He will anticipate your needs as well.....if you accept His Son!!!