Golden Dreams

Last Wednesday night, after our small group spent a lot of time praying, I dreamt that we were back in the circle in our living room praying together. In the midst of it one woman, Laura, turned to me and said, "The golden dogs are bringing her healing." Even in my dream I snorted, laughed and gave her a "You're crazy" look. I woke up remembering that silly dream, and chuckled about it as I ate breakfast.

I kept right on laughing until suddenly it fit together...the "golden dogs." A while back Abbie was visited in therapy by a puppy training to be a therapy dog who will work at the children's hospital. Tucker is a beautiful, mellow Golden Retriever. Shortly after that session Ray called and said he'd gotten an email saying that the trainers were looking for a foster family for Tucker to live with after he'd completed his training. The only requirements were that you had to be a Kapiolani employee and you had to be willing to transport the dog to the hospital four days a week. Kapiolani is one of the hospitals Ray oversees, so we checked that block. I told him what a wonderful dog Tucker is, so Ray put our name on the list. As time went by, however, the reality of the second requirement seemed too much for us right now. As Ray put it, "I don't think we can handle a dog with a job." So, he reluctantly removed our name from the list. My dream made me wonder if we had made a mistake. But, I have a very wise husband who usually knows my limits much better than I do, so I decided not to push the issue.

I related the crazy dream to Lynette, our PT, during our session that morning. I still thought it funny, but it did stir the wonder in my heart a little, too. Toward the end of the session there was a knock on the door, and when we opened it who came through but Tucker. He is being trained on Maui, so it was a surprise to even see him. The trainers said they were on the way out when they heard Abbie was in therapy, so they brought Tucker back to see her. He immediatly began giving her big, sloppy kisses, which she loved. The trainers raised their eyebrows and said, "He doesn't do this...this is only with Abbie." They expressed how disappointed they were that we'd removed our names from the list because they really thought it was meant to be. The first time we met Tucker he was wearing a hand-me-down collar with "Abby" embroidered on it...they took it as a sign, and I tried (in vain) to ignore it. Hearing them express how much they thought Tucker and Abbie have a special connection made me think the "Golden dogs are bringing her healing" phrase might not have been too far off-base.

Ray did get a phone call the next day asking if we would reconsider...I tried to conceal my glee, but failed miserably. I am praying that we can find a way to make it work. Lynette even suggested that some of the hospital volunteers may love to pick up a cute dog every day...we'll see...please just pray that this situation would work out just the way it is supposed to and that I wouldn't get in the middle of it and muck things up. Tucker would be wonderful for Abbie, and actually him going to work every day would be a good thing.

This is a long story, I know, and it's a bit odd. I suppose I shared it to include you in some of the strange and wonderful ways God is moving in our lives. Some days He really makes me laugh.