Three Loved Ones Go Home for Easter

By Susan Dollyhigh-

Isa and Jorge, my sister-in-law and her husband, came home Easter weekend to celebrate the holiday with the family. They came to spend the weekend with Coleen, Isa’s mother. Isa and Jorge brought along Kivette, their beloved lab-collie mix. Flamboyant, exuberant, effervescent Isa. Unpretentious, restrained, humble Jorge. Sweet, lovable Kivette. And Coleen. Strong, solid, firm. A rock as her children called her. Coleen. Mother, Grandmother, Great-grandmother, Sister, Aunt, Cousin, Friend. Coleen, not very fond of dogs and especially not dogs in her house. But Coleen, who couldn’t deny room and board to Kivette, that sweet granddog of hers. Kivette who easily nuzzled her way into all of our hearts and soon came to spend every holiday with the family.

Isa, Jorge and Kivette came home Easter weekend to celebrate the holiday with the family. The family planned to have Sunday lunch together. Coleen’s refrigerator was overflowing with her delicious home-cooked food. But the sun rose that Easter morning to the saddest day ever experienced by the remainder of the family. Sad and terribly painful. Easter Sunday spent not in church as planned. Easter Sunday spent planning three funerals.

Isa, Jorge and Kivette came home to Mount Airy Easter weekend to celebrate the holiday with the family. Only Mount Airy wasn’t their final destination. Seems they only came through to pick up Coleen. On Saturday morning, Isa, Jorge, Coleen and Kivette traveled up Interstate 77 North. On that beautiful spring morning surrounded by the breathtaking panoramic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, they were ushered into the very presence of God the Father. And seated there at His right hand, His Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus who was sent into this world as a baby born of a virgin. Jesus who lived a sinless life yet died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus who on the third day rose from the dead. Jesus who now lives in heaven with God, His Father. And that’s what Easter is all about. Yes, Isa, Jorge, Coleen and Kivette went home that weekend to celebrate Easter. I can only imagine what a wonderful, glorious celebration that must have been.

In memory of Coleen, Jorge, Isa and beloved pet Kivette who went Home for Easter in March 22, 2008.

Bumper Bowling

By Susan Dollyhigh –

Bumper Bowling is like a bumper life. I watched as my granddaughter, Katelyn, rolled the pink bowling ball around in the carousel until her five-year-old fingers found the holes to slide into. She picked up the six-pound ball and in a wobbly run made her way to the foul line where she came to an abrupt stop. Swinging her small upper body around to the right, she brought the ball up with both hands and heaved it down the bowling lane. Thump. Thump. Thump. The ball dribbled out of control before making contact with the lane where it swirled from the right gutter to the left gutter and once more to the right before reaching the pins and slowly knocking over all ten. With a celebratory jump, Katelyn smiled, “Yes, a strike.” Katelyn was Bumper Bowling, a game for children, which meant her ball was protected from falling into the gutters by pads positioned on each side of the bowling lane.

Marital problems, health issues and financial concerns had left me feeling like a bowling ball dropped and thumped from one crisis to the next before swirling out of control, rolling into the gutter and landing in a pit. Faced with so many difficult decisions, I didn’t know what to pray for, so I prayed as David did in Psalm 25:4, “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths.” If I could get out of the pit and onto the Lord’s path, I would find the hope and peace promised in God’s Word. Remembering Katelyn’s Bumper Bowling, I asked the Lord to place bumpers so I couldn’t veer from His path. “Lord,” I prayed, “I want to go Bumper Bowling.”

Susan Shelton Dollyhigh is a freelance writer, columnist and speaker. Susan is a contributing author in Spirit and Heart: A Devotional Journey, Faith and Finances: In God We Trust and The Ultimate Christian Living. Susan’s articles and devotionals have appeared in Connection Magazine, Exemplify Magazine, Mustard Seed Ministry, P31 Woman, The Upper Room and The Secret Place. She is also a contributing online writer for ChristianDevotions.us and InternetCafeDevotions.com.

Thank Goodness for Mercy

by Susan Dollyhigh –

It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV

Moca’s sad, weak eyes looked up at me conveying her discomfort while her head, seemingly too heavy to lift, remained on the floor. My miniature dachshund’s brown tail that usually wagged upon seeing me lay limp. Moca, who had feasted on a delectable baby bird, was now paying the price with what I thought was just a bad tummy ache. After a couple of days with no improvement, I gathered Moca’s ten-pound body and carried her to the car. She lay still in my arms even as I walked into the vet’s office where she usually tried to escape the upcoming torture by running the other way. Upon examining Moca, Dr. Truban diagnosed pancreatitis and immediately hospitalized the sick puppy.

After a week of IV fluids and antibiotics, Moca was allowed to come home but had to return to the vet for weekly check-ups and blood work. Dr. Truban, who’d taken care of Moca, was usually available for these appointments but one day was out of the office and his partner, Dr. Brinegar, filled in for him.

“What’s going on with Moca?” Dr. Brinegar asked as he walked into the exam room.

“Well, Moca ate a baby bird a few weeks ago and…”

Dr. Brinegar’s eyes grew wide with dismay and he looked first at Moca and then back at me. “I love birds,” he said. “In fact, I love those feathered creatures so much I even specialized in birds in vet school.”

Looking at Moca I thought, You, Puppy, could be in big trouble. The man who holds your very life in his hands loves birds. And he knows you ate one.

Knowing that Moca brought this illness upon herself and that she did so by ending the life of an innocent baby bird could have impacted the amount of compassion Dr. Brinegar had on Moca. His mercy level could have plummeted upon hearing this dreadful news. But it didn’t. Dr. Brinegar gently picked up the guilty puppy. “Come here, Girl. Let’s see how you’re doing.” It was soon evident Dr. Brinegar didn’t care what sin had gotten Moca into her predicament; he only wanted to help her get well. Thank goodness for mercy.

Aren’t we glad that the One who holds our very life in His hands has the same kind of mercy on us? In the Old Testament book of Psalms, King David, whom God referred to as a man after His own heart, cried out to God for mercy after a time of great sin in his life. King David’s affair with Bathsheba led to the subsequent murder of her husband Uriah. Sadly, the child born of this affair died and as a result of all of this, King David ended up a broken man. But King David knew his healing could only come from God and he cried out in Psalm 51:1, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.”

When we, like King David, go to the Lord and confess our sin, the details could affect the amount of compassion God has on us. His mercy level could plummet upon

hearing the dreadful news. But it doesn’t. He gently pulls us into his arms. “Come here, my child. Tell me all about it.” It’s soon evident Our Father only wants to heal us from our sin and restore us to a right relationship with Him. Thank goodness for mercy.

Blessings,

Susan D.

Our Father, thank you for Your mercy. Thank you that it is new every morning. Great is your faithfulness, Lord unto us.