Hey Look!

I was so excited, I had to tell someone the news. I swung around in my chair and grabbed the arm of the charge nurse who happened to be walking by. "Look! Look at this!" I said, pointing at the picture on the computer screen. "This dog ... He's going to be my son's autism assistance service dog! See him?"

It was the beginning of the evening shift at the hospital where I work, and I thought I'd take a quick peek to see if the long awaited email from 4 Paws for Ability had come, telling us which dog Nick would get. With training less then two weeks away, it was due and both John and I had been glued to our inbox for days. Now, just as I was to start work, there it was.

We got Red, a German Retriever from the River litter, thus named after the Red River. He's 70 lbs, 16 months old. He's all about tennis balls. We've almost been like new parents, showing pictures, telling everyone about him. There is a joy and relief at finally seeing Nick's service dog after our fundraising ventures and then months of waiting. And then before the fundraising, the long time it took me to get started out of fear that enough funds could never be raised. If that fear had won out, we certainly wouldn't be heading to train with Nick's dog in Ohio in a few days and wouldn't have learned things we will never forget through our fundraising experience.

And so that is why there is so much excitement about Red. We want to share the good news. As I think about Red, I think about a teaching at a recent Joni and Friends Family Retreat - retreats for families affected by disability - that we went to. We heard about not being afraid to share the good news in our life, of the things that we've learned, of breakthroughs that we've made, of insights we've learned, of challenges overcome, of personal change, and as I think of my own faith, of what God has done in me or those around me. Often I hold back from saying, "Hey, look here, look at this; look at this change in my life and what I have learned. Look!"

Fear holds me back. Fear of it being too personal. Fear of what others may think. Fear that what I have to say might be rejected. But, as our excitement with Nick's new service dog illustrates, saying, "Hey look; look at what I am learning and seeing in my life," just may draw some interest. When others see something worth being enthusiastic about, they may be interested too.