This is Penny, our three legged Dachshund. Her right front leg isn’t tucked under her, it’s completely missing.
She’s a rescue, so we’re not sure what her story is, but the humane society in Atlanta thinks she was hit by a car somewhere in South Georgia. The surgery to remove the leg was performed prior to her arriving in Atlanta.
I’m writing about her because she doesn’t let her missing leg slow her down one bit. Obviously, her thoughts are: “Okay, so my leg is missing, I’m still standing and I will survive.” Yeah, she knows those two songs by Elton John and Gloria Gaynor because her humans are musicians.
We can learn a lot from Penny’s thoughts. We are many times beaten down by life, and this pandemic has added to our already crazy world. Things are really bad for many people. The unimaginable has happened to some. My heart is breaking for all the sadness and pain I see every day.
In all of this darkness, the Light is still there. It hasn’t gone out, and God still has our backs.
I’ve had several friends to contract and recover from COVID-19. I have many friends and family members who are first responders, and who are exposed daily to the vile disease. Through their faith, they continue to put one foot in front of the other and go on, in spite of COVID-19.
Penny woke up one day and no longer had a right front leg. She didn’t shrivel up and die as a result, but she created a new normal for herself. She runs as fast as any dog I know, and she digs so much (you’d have to see it to believe it) with that one paw, that we had to shore up our fence to keep her in the yard! There isn’t anything that “normal” dogs do, that she won’t try, and in some way determines to make it work for her.
We can all learn from Penny’s thoughts. Regardless of what’s going on around us, we can determine to make our lives the best they can be, and NOT become a victim to our circumstances. You may say, “well, she’s a dog and doesn’t think as we do.” That’s debatable, to me, but I won’t go down that road right now. Suffice to say, all the dogs I’ve had the pleasure of being a human for, have known how to think. I’m convinced she knows her leg is gone, but she doesn’t care. She survives in spite of that darkness in her life.
I’d rather approach the darknesses in my life the way Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did in the Bible. Their story is in Daniel chapter 3. They’re about to be thrown into a fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar, because the refuse to bow down to his golden statue. I love their response to him in verses 16-18 of that chapter. The following is from the New Living Translation of the Bible:
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.'”
So, no matter what goes on in my life, God is there and is able to save me. But even if He chooses NOT to save me on this earth, I serve Him anyway, because He’ll never leave me and will always walk with me, even through the darkest times of my life.
See you next time…
