Sometimes the morning  is at the end of a difficult season. The title “Joy comes in the morning,” means there is a night. Have you ever had one of those years?

My night started last summer when Grace was loosing weight. She was my cat! She was the one who would come and check on me every time I was outside working in the gardens and she greeted me every time I returned from running. We first thought she was loosing weight like every summer hunting critters in the yard. It turned out to be something different because her weight kept dropping and she refused to eat her food, even when we brought home cans of tasty food.

She breathed her last laying next to me on the couch November 14, 2021, at 11:30 P.M.

In the picture you see Sam laying next to Grace an hour before she left us.

I didn’t get the chance to mourn Grace leaving because Sam, our youngest animal was getting very sick and refused to run or walk.

Sam was getting sick  about the same time Grace started to loose weight. He had  an allergic reaction to both  fleas, the flea medicine, and his food.Who knew allergic reactions could make you sick.

We have always looked for a food he didn’t turn red after eating and found one but realized it had  lots of fillers.

He had no energy. We learned it was a yeast infection in his feet swelling his toes. This spread to his head and eventually to his ears. He was a mess when we first brought him to the veterinarian’s office. We had to sit in the vehicle because of COVID issues, and they came to get him. The Doctor came out to tell me all his problems which I couldn’t under stand because of the mask she wore. We came home with $550 bill and pills.

The pills worked until they were done and the infection came back. We go back to the vet and get more medicine and more money. I think the third  time I was able to go into the office and talk with the vet. She had the thought that we were not giving the medicine and was tempted to not let him go home with me. Fear gripped me as the vet said he had 2 resistant infections going on in his ears.

The forth or fifth time  they had us make a 2 week appointment to check and see that we were giving him his medicine. This brought some relief. Now we just need to keep him healthy.

I Hope and Believe his healing is going to stay healed because Bart found food on line that comes frozen and is suppose to be Good for dogs. He has been on this food for 6-8  weeks and Sam is looking BETTER then he has for years. We are praying his immune system kicks in and fights to keep him healthy without medicine!

Even with Sam going through this, I was starting to work in my flower garden early in the Spring. Hope was trying to rise!

But then we received the phone call. Dad died.  This became  on more strike to try and keep me down. The spring was spent driving to the West Coast twice.

After the funeral, Bart tried all Summer to get me out into my gardens, but I just couldn’t. Have you ever gotten stuck? Have you figured out how to get unstuck?

When it was time to pick raspberries(my favorite fruit of all) I felt physically barred from the raspberries. I had to fight through and invisible barrier that I didn’t understand at all. Picking raspberries brings me joy!

I did push past this thing that was holding me back after talking with my friend who encouraged me. Thankfully the call of the raspberries was stronger than the thing that kept me chained to the house.

HOPE IS RISING!

The vegetable and flower gardens  are waiting for me to join them.

Sam, is looking healthy for the first time in over a year, and he even started to gallop one evening we were running. It forced me to run just a bit faster! I have not seen that for years.

I believe the statement “It will be very difficult for me to work outside without Grace to come and see me.” did affect my ability to move. It is a learning curve to realize how much power the words we speak have power over our lives. It is shocking to see it really be acted out.

So Now I am telling myself it is easy to go outside so is it time to get outside and see what can be accomplished before snow falls. Hope is the thing I have always held onto! It helps me get up every morning and keep believing this next year will be better because I keep learning how to do better.

Do you know how to find HOPE? Ask Jesus!