For the Glory Of God

I've been pondering my next blog post for a while now.  It seems like I don't usually have a shortage of things to say, but I often have a shortage of intelligent things to say *HA!*  But over the past few weeks, one particular thing has been on my mind - one thing that I think most people ponder, at least at some point in their lives.  And that one thing that I've been thinking about is this:  What is my purpose?  What am I here for?

I've always been a bit of a dork.  I was one of, if not THE, most unpopular girl growing up in school - ridiculed and teased beyond belief, beat up on the play ground - you all know the type.  I spent most of my childhood into my teenage years just trying to fit in, but never really found that place where I felt "at home."  Because most of the people around me pushed me away, I immersed myself in the one thing that would always need me - my pets.  I know that sounds pretty ridiculous, but it's true.  I can't ever remember NOT having a pet (other than my first few years of marriage before Brian and I moved out to our farm - and lonely years those were!!).

I can remember being a toddler and having our first family dog - a German short hair named Gypsie.  Next was our English spring spaniel - Sandy, my black lab/German shepherd mix - Lady, miniature dachshund - Heidi, black lab/Irish setter rescue - Duke, a tiger salamander I caught on our school playground that we named (shockingly), Tiger.  Hamsters - Gizmo, Missy, and Tucker.  And a list of Chinese fighting fish (betas) - I rarely had less than 3-4 at a time (in separate bowls, of course, as the males have to be separated or they kill each other).  There was my first, Fido (who, ironically, was the last of ALL of the fish I had to die), Star, Fantasia, Smokey, Crimson, Azul, and the list goes on and on...

As with most young pre-teen girls, I began babysitting when I was about 12.  By the time I was 14, I was nannying full time during my summer breaks for families with no less than 3 children.  The day I turned 16 (literally), I was working full time (in between my home schooling classes) at one of our local day care centers with children ages 2-5.  Although it was a job that paid relatively well, especially for a young high school student, I never really enjoyed working with kids.  However, the expectation of girls doing child care was one of those things that I thought I was supposed to do and that it was something I just had to grow to enjoy.  But no matter how much babysitting or nannying I did, working with kids just never became my niche.

As I grew older, I guess I assumed that a love for kids would just "come to me," after all, that's what ladies are supposed to do, right?  Be the nurturing, mothering type?  Even after I had my own daughter and I started getting roped in to working in the nursery at church, I just never developed that passion for little people that I see SO many other women have.  Don't get me wrong - I absolutely adore my little girl - she is my greatest joy!  But, I don't particularly get excited about changing other children's dirty diapers or wiping snotty noses.  I'm just not wired that way.  And, for many, MANY years, I thought there was something wrong with me - especially since taking care of kids is something young girls are taught to do from a VERY young age!

Then, one Sunday morning, our pastor was doing a sermon series - I can't even remember which one it was - but he said something to the effect of, "Working with children is not my gift - you don't want me to do it.  If I do, you're children will never be the same and you won't be happy parents."  That really struck me.  If it was OK for our senior pastor to not be gifted in working with children, maybe it was OK for it to not be my gift either.

After that sermon, and mind you, this has only been within the past 3-4 years or so, I began to realize and accept the fact that working with kids was not my cup of tea.  It's not that I don't like kids - there are actually some children that I adore and seek out to talk with and get special hugs from - but I lack the creativity, patience (and sometimes even the stomach), to love and be effective with them.

So, I started exploring the natural love and talent that began developing in my heart as a young child so many years ago - a passion for animals.  I stopped trying to force myself to be something I wasn't or function in a capacity that wasn't my strength, and began focusing on my abilities and my strengths.

Over the past few years I have been awed by where the Lord has brought me and how He has continued to develop my gift of working with animals - something He could not have done had I not allowed myself to see past what others expected of me and clung to what God needed of me - the purpose I truly believe He created me for.

What does my purpose look like?  Well, let me tell you that it has taken MANY forms!  From rescuing a sea gull with a broken wing to trapping and re-homing stray cats.  In January of 2010, I took in a stray dog that had been roaming a 20+ mile radius of the country and named her Faith.  Faith ultimately became a "poster child" for a non-profit animal rescue, Animal Lifeline of Iowa, and touched the lives of MANY school children in the greater Des Moines area.

Faith

God has also brought many opportunities for me to expand my skills.  One afternoon, my husband was working on installing siding on our house.  He was sitting on the roof of our porch, right outside our bedroom window.  I was inside sitting on our bed with the window open talking to him.  The next thing I know, Brian says, "Ummm, Honey, we have some horses on the yard."  Now, we've lived at our farm for 7+ years and in ALL this time we have never even SEEN any other horses in our neighborhood let alone had any on our yard.  It ended up that a neighbor down the road had a pasture WAY back from the road - a field you couldn't even see from the road.  At that time of the summer we'd gotten a huge rain storm that had washed part of his fence out and allowed all 9 of his horses to escape their pasture.  As a herd animal, the horses were drawn to our farm where our own horses were grazing.  Although I have 2 beautiful horses, I would LOVE to have more and when I saw these 9 gorgeous animals strutting across my lawn, I looked up and said, "Thank you, Jesus!"  To which my husband replied, "No, Dear, we can't keep them!"

I saw the situation as a way to hone my skills.  My husband wasn't nearly as thrilled with the predicament, but I could hardly contain myself.  Even with completely strange beasts that could easily charge if spooked, I felt a tremendous sense of courage as I walked outside with a coffee can full of grain into the herd of 9 some 800+ pound animals.

It was getting dark, so I knew I needed to work calmly and swiftly to contain all of the horses.  In the country where we live, there are few, if any, fences separating the fields and the 4 lane highway is a mere mile straight west across the field from our house.  With no fences to stop them, and night closing in, the horses needed to be corralled not only for their own safety, but for the safety of people as well.  I eyed one of the horses that seemed to lead the herd.  I slowly walked up to him with my hand held flat.  He took a few steps toward me, then bucked and ran back.  I stayed with him and he eventually came to me and ate grain out of  my hand.  From there, trust had been established, and I ended up having all 9 horses literally follow me down to one of our empty lots where they were fenced in and safe.  Shortly thereafter, the neighbor that owned the horses showed up at our farm with a HUGE sigh of relief.  All of his treasures were safe and I gained a whole lot more confidence in my ability that night!

Our 9 Visitors - April 30, 2012

 
In addition, I've been given the opportunity to do some dog sitting for friends and family - something I love to do!  We've had many visitors to our home over the past several years - Peyton, Lucky, and Catalina, to name a few.

Another recent adventure has been that of a miniature pot bellied pig named Miss Ellie Mae.  I've blogged about this whole story before, but as a recap, I came across a "wanted" ad, on Craig's List about a family looking for a miniature pot bellied pig for their autistic son.  After sensing the Lord's leading, I was able to find, acquire, and ultimately introduce Miss Ellie Mae to the this family who immediately fell in love with the little piggy and made her part of their family.

Miss Ellie Mae - taken during her 2 day stay with us.

Miss Ellie Mae in her new forever home with her new forever friend, Dakoda.

My most recent encounter happened just last weekend.  We own a second acreage about 4 miles from our home and last Saturday evening, Brian drove over to check on it.  He no more got out of his truck and he heard something breathing hard and snorting behind him.  He turned around and there was a horse standing there obviously agitated and on the defensive.  He walked toward it a bit and it started bucking and took off running down the gravel road. 

Brian came back home, where Madeline and I were camped out, and yelled up the stairs, "Honey, I need some help."  I asked him what was wrong and he told me about the horse.  I asked Brian to go down to the barn to get some grain and one of my lead ropes while I got Madeline suited up to be out in the cool night air.  I grabbed my spotlight on the way out the door and we headed back to the other place.  I also called the county sheriff to come out and help as we had no idea where the animal was, it was pitch black outside, and we were going to need help tracking not only it down, but the owner as well.  After walking our 3 acres of land, and searching the gravel road and adjacent fields, the deputy found the horse down a long lane and called us to come back to catch it.  I was seriously thrilled at another opportunity to learn and work with an animal who was obviously in need of a human hand.

I walked toward the horse and it turned around and ran a ways, turned around again, and ran straight at me.  I stood my ground and she stopped about 5 feet in front of me.  I started talking to her and reached out my hand with some grain.  She spooked and ran away, so we started all over again.  Eventually, I was able to earn her trust and get my lead rope around her neck.  The deputy figured out who she belonged to and we returned her to the safety of her pasture.

Over the years I've seen the Lord do GREAT things in the lives of people through animals.  Studies have even shown that interaction with animals can lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, and relieve depression. According to Stephen F. Winner, a co-founder of the Silverado Senior Living Aspen Park Community in Salt Lake City, the presence of animals "infuses our environments with life'' and brings demonstrable medical benefits, including reduced depression and lower blood pressure. But perhaps just as important is the boost to self-esteem that assisting in the care of an animal can bring.  At this particular facility, a "mandatory minimum ratio'' of one dog and one cat for every 10 residents is maintained to help improve the quality of life for nursing home residents.

But, in order for these animals to have the opportunity to impact the lives of people, humans have to exist to prepare those animals for service.  As unusual or unconventional as it may seem, I believe with all my heart that the Lord has given me this gift - the ability to work with animals to impact the lives of others.  Many people have criticized me for my passion - I've even lost friendships because I've refused to buy in to others' opinions that "they're JUST animals" and not worthy of any kind of physical or monetary investment.  But I'm choosing, instead, to follow the Holy Spirit's leading in my life and whether I eat or drink or whatever I do, I'll do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Our beautiful horses, Penny (left) and Philly (right).

 

Our cat, Johnathan

Our second cat, Jedediah, and treasured friend, Lady, who sadly passed away in March of 2008

Our dog, Zip

Our sweet sheep, Rosie

On a final note, I must give credit and praise to my awesome husband, Brian.  He has supported me through all of my shenanigans and adventures and has always encouraged me to try new things.  Not just any husband would allow their wife to bring a pot bellied pig in to their home (literally) or bring home a 1 week old bottle lamb that ends up having to stay in the house for nearly 2 months to recuperate after being kicked by a horse and suffering a broken jaw.  Brian has been my greatest supporter, my constant encourager, and my most trusted friend and I couldn't imagine embarking on this trek we call "life" with anyone else.  I love you, Sweetheart!!

Brian napping with Zip, 2005

Brian teaching Madeline how to bottle feed Rosie - May, 2010