The Dog Days of Summer

Are you familiar with the old saying that talks about “The Dog Days of Summer?”  Well… it is not summer but we did spend the whole afternoon yesterday on dog business… so I guess that’s close enough!  With everything going on with my wife over the last few weeks, I kept putting my desire to get our dog checked out at the Vet aside.  But I finally took the time to call in and set up an appointment for Fiver for yesterday afternoon.

I had planned to find a new Vet closer to our new home, but I really like the Vet we started going to when we first moved here which is literally around the block from the apartment home we first lived in.  So we decided the extra time (a 45 minute ride) to get there was worth it!  And once again I was not disappointed.  The only down side was that we left  home around 2:00 pm and drove back up the driveway around 5:30 pm.  We we’re at the Vet for over an hour and then hit some traffic slowdowns on the way home.

As it turned out, all of Fiver’s tests came out negative.  So we are trying a non-steroid type medication to see if it helps him to stop scratching.  It seems like the issue is most likely caused by an allergy.  If need be we may try a special diet.  I’ve also had him taking an all-natural nutritional supplement over the last month and while it has helped the health of his coat I really haven’t seen the progress over the scratching that I would have liked to have seen.  So, we’ll put that on pause for a while in order to give the new plan a chance.  We also discussed a few behavior traits that need changing and ran some other tests.

The phrase “The Dog Days of Summer” originates from ancient times and describes “the sultry part of summer supposed to occur during the period that Sirius, the dog star, rises at the same time as the sun: now often reckoned from July 3^rd to August 11^th.” (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/dog-days)  Many times it also refers to “a period marked by lethargy, inactivity, or indolence.” (ibid)

That description doesn’t really match our day yesterday as we actually had a lot of activity going on, although it was also interspersed with long periods of inactivity while we sat in the car traveling to and fro and in the Vet’s examination room talking to the Vet, watching her examine our pooch and then awaiting the results of the various tests!

In some other respects, I feel like we are going through an overall period of inactivity where we are not seeing the Lord work as actively as we have seen at other times.  Have you ever experienced times like that?  I think that we probably all have at various times in our lives.  Our trip and stay at the hospital a few weeks back seemed to have started off a time where the Lord’s hand has not seemed as visible.  In fact for a while there it was as though we were seeing someone else’s hand other than Papa God’s!  You know what I mean?

So what do you do when it seems like you have all you can do to just keep your suddenly flooding boat of life afloat by bailing out the difficulties with your bare hands and a prayer or two?  I’ve found out that the best thing to do is to stay constant in your stand of faith.  To not move away from your confessions and their corresponding actions of faith just because it seems like it’s not working at any given time or place.

I will warn you though… this is easier said than done!  After seeing how frail and pale my wife looked in the hospital and talking with the various medical experts during and after our hospital experience over the last few weeks, I initially found it very difficult to not let what I was observing and hearing to affect and possibly change the direction of my faith!

But you know, I am very thankful for family, a few close friends, a new Chaplin friend, and the trusted word of some ministries that we have been supporting for years to help get me back on track!  Yes, I do feel that it is important to know all the natural facts of the situation and to do whatever I need to do to be prepared for the worst… but the key factor is that the worst is NOT what I am expecting!

My hope continues to abide in the truth and promises of God’s Word… and that dear reader is what I am ultimately expecting!  So while it may seem like a time of inactivity during these “Dog Days” and that the heat of life’s current experiences has the thermometer of our lives rising… I am going to stick with what I know… or maybe better said… with “Whom I Know!”

I can’t help but to keep remembering and reciting God’s Word to us in Joshua 1:5 where He affirms that no matter what season we are in, no matter how hot or cold the experiences of our lives become, He faithfully confirms to us that “I will never neglect you or abandon you.” (God’s Word ©)  That is the Word that I am taking to the bank!  What about you?

Have a great rest of the week, and as you do keep asking yourself… “Who am I expecting to see me through my ‘Dog Days of Summer’ today?