Stories of Faith | A Thankfully Imperfect Woman

Jan 21

Four Angels and a Cigar – Part 2

The Mayo Clinic – Rochester, Minnesota

My incredible husband (my guardian angel) took me down for the first few days of appointments. He was an incredible help – not only because I didn’t feel comfortable driving (with dizzy spells), but he also commandeered the schedule and guided me to where I had to go! For the rest of the week, my oldest daughter Alex (another guardian angel) took over. I was so thankful for their guidance and company – the whole process was overwhelming. (I realized after I published Part 1, the title should have been Six Angels and a Cigar! Tim and Alex were beyond angels!)

It was 7 days of appointments…only 2.5 hours the first day, but the other 6 days were 6-10 hour days at the clinic. Add in two more trips in June for a total of about 2 1/2 weeks more at the Mayo…I was poked, X-rayed, MRI’d, spun in a chair, tied down to a table so they could flip me up and watch me almost pass out, sat in a capsule (during which I pretended I was captaining a space ship), and gave enough blood for all the mosquitos in MN to be jealous. Read more

Jan 18

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Four Angels and a Cigar – Part 1 of 4

{After I read this blog yesterday: Finding Your Voice, I was inspired to publish this series of posts that I had started writing last year.}

No this is not a joke post, although you may find a few things funny on the way to the cigar.

And so here we go…

Let’s start with a little background: Read more

May 20

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The Deep, Dark Well and the Bright, Shining Son

Imagine you’re in the bottom of a really deep well.

Overwhelmed and haunted by memories:

A loss that cut deep in your soul. Arguments with loved ones. A history of past abuse. A history of deep shame.

Memories of (insert yours here). Read more

Apr 1

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Dear God…Sometimes Life Just Kinda Stinks

Today was one of those days, and no, this is NOT an April Fool’s Day joke.

We’ve been dealing with anger issues with Motzy lately. He would do really well…and then suddenly snarl at one of us.

We tried everything…reprimanding him, putting him in his kennel for a timeout, and anything else you can imagine. We even had our own private Veterinary advisor Jen – the daycare baby’s Mom. She talked us through many ideas for training and disciplining him.

But today we had to say goodbye.

He went after Gabi last Thursday night when she was doing nothing more than snuggling with him – like they had every night for the past 7 months. He left 8 indents on her hands along with a couple scrapes. He didn’t break skin, but she froze in fear. Motzy was immediately put in his kennel where we didn’t hear a peep from him until morning.

Today he went after me twice. This morning leaving a few teeth indents on my hand and this afternoon I was saved by his cone. He has snarled at us before and had attempted to bite but hadn’t connected. We had him neutered on Friday with the hope that it might help things. Unfortunately it didn’t, he actually was worse.

We had to make the decision today, and even though we knew we absolutely couldn’t have a dog that snapped at any of us or the two little daycare babies, it was still hard to say goodbye. He was the sweetest dog 95% of the time. But we couldn’t take a chance on the other 5%, especially with his episodes escalating.

I told Gabi before we left that maybe this was just all part of God’s plan. Maybe Motzy has a wonderful new home to go to where he’ll be able to do all the things English Setters are supposed to do – go bird hunting and get lots of exercise each day. Maybe that owner wouldn’t have been able to take him when he was a pup. Maybe we were supposed to give him lots of love for 7 months so that he could eventually meet up with his permanent owner.

For now Jen was able to find a foster home. She’s hoping to find him a permanent home soon. I imagine a farm where maybe he could live in a barn and run free.

But for today, we kissed him goodbye and told him how much we loved him. He’s spending the night at the Vet Clinic awaiting his ride.

Whatever God’s plan may be for Motzy, or for us…

Sometimes life just kinda stinks.

Patty O

Mar 30

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When Something Touches Your Soul

Have you ever had a smell, a touch, a sight, a sound, or even a taste touch your soul? Such a poignant touch that tears start to fall, or you revel in a sweet memory this sense brings back to your mind? I’ve experienced this before, and I had it happen again on Saturday.

Let me explain and share my moment…

I was sitting with my morning cup of coffee, listening to Sirius XM – The Message and the song ‘You Raise Me Up‘ by Selah came on. My husband and I were in the middle of a conversation and tears just started to flow down my cheeks. He looked at me with a questioning look on his face, as we weren’t having any kind of earth shattering conversation, and all I could do was shrug my shoulders. “It’s the song”, was all I could say. Why? I have no idea. I don’t remember when I last heard it or why it was so poignant to me. But sometimes we don’t have all the answers, do we?

In His hands…we’re all in His hands. And what a comfort that is.

Good times or bad, He’s with us. Whether we feel Him there or not…He’s there.

May God bless all of you on this Sunday.

He sure has blessed me.

Patty O