Facing the real World

Facing the real World

This week I began dog training, very slowly, but a step in a whole new direction. It’s a funny thing to go into a house where you are able to fix the problems they are having, but what’s been eating me is that the problem I am fixing has to do with dogs, not people or their relationships, it’s with peoples pets!
So today as I was home buming a bit, thinking about all this when I received a phone call from someone who let me know that a former friend and co-worker was in the hospital and in very serious condition (It would take too long to go into detail, as his problems go back many years and involve many bad choices).
My friend was surprised and happy to see me and as we began to talk, the gravity of his condition came out. He told me how he’d been in ICU for almost three weeks and was at Loma Linda for almost three months before that, his kidney is failing (he only has one) and because of his drug use and life style, the chances of him getting another transplant are unlikely. His wife has filed for divorce and he had not seen his two children for quite sometime which just added to the overall turmoil he was in.
Now, I will try and clarify what I am about to say in a bit as it may come across rather dark, but the truth is, I would rather have been in that ICU room dealing with all that pain my friend was going through, than in a beautiful house being hailed as a hero for making someone’s dog behave.
You see, as I began to talk with my friend, I was able to bring back into his thoughts the reality of eternity and how temporary all of what WE call “life” is, that he’s not leaving the real world, he’s facing it! He began to cry as we spoke of what really should matter to him most right now, how he, and we all need, forgiveness and grace. He began to talk of his regrets, all that he did wrong and failed to do right. And in his despair I was able to speak to him of God’s unfailing mercy and ability to take and turn around the years that we’ve wasted. I also told him that even in his condition there in ICU, he is still useful to God and those he loves, he can still pray in that hospital bed for his children, and for his marriage, that his prayers can enter eternity and have an impact even after he is gone, that he can still call out to the Lord for strength, wisdom and peace to strengthen the things that remain.
Again through this time, although difficult and sad, I was thankful to be able to be there, thankful to have a part of the eternal work and not just the temporary wag of a tail.
It is worth some thought, when people face death, what matters most of what we call life begins to surface, but we don’t have to wait for that to happen, do we?