Maggie The Wonder Dog and the Hurt Eye

Maggie the Wonder Dog, in case you don't know, is my six year old Shih Tzu and older sibling to Mamie the Apprentice Wonder Puppy. She is sassy and funny and smart. She can do the usual dog tricks, but she can also herd cattle, dance like a ballerina, and sneak like a spy. She is a terrific dog.

On Thursday, the Wonder Dogs and I went for a long ramble in the woods. They crawled through blackberry brambles, jumped through tall grass, and raced through pastures with abandon. They both had great fun, and finished off the jaunt with a swim in the lake, which required baths for both dogs.

They were exhausted after the fun. Somewhere in the midst of the rambling, Maggie injured her eye, but it didn't slow her down. She kept playing.

Late Friday afternoon, I noticed there was some drainage from Maggie's left eye. Over the weekend, it worsened and, by Sunday I could see slough and a scrape, even without an otoscope. 

We were at the vet's office early yesterday. The staining confirmed what we could see with the naked eye. Maggie has a large corneal abrasion. 

In case you don't know, the cornea is the clear outer covering of the eye. When a scratch of the cornea occurs, it causes severe pain, especially with bright light, and blurred vision. If severe enough, it can cause scarring of the cornea and permanent vision loss. Maggie's is severe. 

Maggie's only symptom has been eye drainage. She hasn't rubbed at her eye or refused to go outside into the light or stopped playing. She hasn't been grumpy. Maggie has been the same old Maggie. No matter what.

Has her eye injury been painful? Certainly. Has the light hurt her eye? No doubt.

Maggie has persevered through her pain and suffering without changing her behavior or attitude at all. She's simply trusted me to take care of her problem.

I should do as well with my own struggles. Scriptures tells us God will never leave us nor forsake us. (Deut. 31:7) He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7) He knows our suffering. (Isaiah 53:3-12) He provides exactly what we need. (Phil. 4:19) We can trust Him. (Prov. 3:5)

When we encounter painful circumstances, suffering of any kind, He knows. He cares. He will make a way through. Even better, He will walk through it with us. We are not alone in our suffering.

No matter how difficult the circumstance or how uncertain the situation, we can depend on our Lord to help us through. There's no need (albeit a big temptation) to grumble and complain. 

Eric Stites wrote a hymn in 1876, Trusting Jesus. The words sum up our response to difficulty better than I ever could.

Simply trusting every day,

Trusting through a stormy way;

Even when my faith is small,

Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Singing if my way is clear,

Praying if the path be drear;

If in danger for Him call;

Trusting Jesus, that is all.

Oh, that we might live with the faith that simply trusts Him, no matter how stormy our way. No grumbling. No complaining. Today, if our way is clear, let us sing. If our path is drear, let us pray. If in danger, let us call on Jesus. No matter what, let's trust Him. Wholeheartedly, trust with abandon. 

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: The Blessing Disguised as Coincidence, The Blessing of Protection, Becoming a Writer: Cover Reveal, I Shook His Hand Once, Knowing the Goal, and Remembering My Way.

The most read post of the past week: The Blessing Disguised as a Coincidence.

Here's the link to The Clay Papers, available as an e-book for personal use or to send as a gift for only 99 cents. 

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#trustingJesus #faith #disciple #MaggietheWonderDog #suffering