Last week we had to say goodbye to our sweet rescued dog Maggie. I spent the last few days looking back at what I wrote about Maggie in 2014 when my book Stay was submitted for publication. She was just a couple of years old when I finished the manuscript so I decided to write an epilogue about her amazing development over the last 10 years. If you have a copy of Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace you can print this out and put it at the end of the volume. I don’t think Tyndale Momentum Publishing will reissue the book to include this chapter but feel free to ask them!

Our girl was found running loose near Van Alstyne, Texas in the fall of 2012. She was a few months old when rescued but was in very bad shape with an open gash on her leg. She was undernourished and tested positive for hookworms. A rescue organization brought her in, healed her up, and found a foster home. Her assigned foster home name was Savannah. We decided to adopt her but we had to change her name because the name Savannah was just too close to our recently deceased dog Hannah. Maggie could have been her third name in a very short lifespan and that had to be confusing for her.

Everything was a mystery. Was she wanted and ran away? Was she unwanted and abandoned to fend for herself? Was she treated poorly? Had she been socialized with other animals and people? The details of her story—who, what, where, when, why—surely influenced her behavior.

Maggie’s biggest issue was trust. I certainly get that. She was lost, captured, hospitalized, kenneled, fostered, and then adopted. Each day, I tried to read Maggie’s expressions and body language. Did she think we were just one more way station on her sad journey? She seemed appreciative of everything we gave her, yet she was still wary. Her personality was friendly at times, but then she’d become withdrawn and want to hide. She would accept affection but she rarely initiated it. The message she was sending was “It’s okay. I can make it on my own.”

I related to that spiritually, I was generally grateful for God’s gift of grace. I openly proclaimed the “title” of believer but sometimes I failed to really trust God in tough times. I would accept that I was forgiven but I often tried on my own to control my wrong behaviors and my trust was too often situational.

Something beautiful happened as our time with Maggie grew. She began to trust that this place where she landed was for real and that we were always there for her. Maggie began to relax. Her already sweet spirit grew as she showed incredible patience with our grand kids when they climbed on her, pulled her tail, and shared her bed. She greeted Joni and I upon each return home with body shaking enthusiasm and intense sniffs.
Over the years Maggie developed anxiety during storms and fireworks. Instead of going into hiding she began to come to us for comfort. Another lesson learned from her. In times of stress the best thing to do is go to a reliable source of comfort. For Maggie the source was the ones who gave her a home with love. For me the source was easy. The one who gave me love, forgiveness, grace, and hope.

Jesus.

Maggie showed me the importance of sitting and staying (abiding) with my eyes on Jesus instead of on the behavior I was trying to stop. When I quit focusing on the sin and shift to the Savior, the sin dissipates. Why did it take me so long to trust that the One who died for my sins is the One who gives me power over them? Jesus is the source of my power to live

 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7, NLT)

I recently shared a chapter from Stay about how Maggie learned to trust gentle and kind leadership.

Last week we were shocked that Maggie was unexpectedly unable to move. We took her into the emergency clinic to see what was going on. Maggie remained gentle even when the doctor had to cause some pain to test her movement. The vet tenderly petted her and said this.

”I wish all of our patients were this sweet.”

My heart melted as I looked into her eyes. She responded to our touch. Even in her pain this sweet girl still lived in the moment with a heart for her people. Looking back over Maggie’s life I can relate to so much of her journey. I was also a mess running roughshod into unknown trouble. I was also rescued by the Lord in my darkest moment. Jesus patiently loved me as I slowly learned to trust Him just as Maggie learned to trust her rescuers. And now I hope to follow her example to love others and live in the moment until the very end of my journey. Maggie was special. Her story is finished but I am certain that in my heart it will never be forgotten. Thank you sweet girl for bringing so much joy into our lives.