Dark Night

Image by Erik Karits from Pixabay 

Since publishing my devotional, I’ve experienced a darkness I can’t explain. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t form words for prayer. Dark thoughts, so unlike me, spiraled through my mind.

Exhaustion finally allowed me to sleep, but it wasn’t restful, and it was peppered with horrible dreams.

It was Sunday. I wanted to go to church, but getting ready seemed an overwhelming chore. After several minutes of oscillating back and forth, I dragged myself into the shower and dressed. Still fighting the urge to climb back under the covers, I drove the twenty miles to church on autopilot. The moment I entered the church, I knew I’d made the right decision.

Through the worship, my emotions lightened some, but the dark persisted, refusing to release me. I knew what the next step had to be. I needed additional prayer.

After the service, I approached the couple sitting in front of me and asked if they would keep me in their prayers. They did more than that. They prayed with me right then. The darkness grayed.

As I exited the sanctuary, my pastor asked me how I was. Something showed on my face because he followed that up with another question. “Is there something I can pray with you about?”

I told him, “Yes, I feel a darkness I can’t explain.”

He prayed with me, and the last vestiges of darkness lifted. I left the church whole, my emotions lighter, happier.

The darkness has not returned.  

I’m not sure why the publication of this book put me under such a vicious attack, except that God may use it to draw more souls to Him. If that’s true, I’ll endure many dark nights. However, I don’t believe that’s God’s intention, or He would not have delivered me through the companionship and prayers of fellow believers.

“Again, I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth, concerning anything whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father who is in heaven. For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:18-20.

Amen. 

Four-Footed Angels

Original Photo by Author

Our Brittany, Cooper, woke my husband up several nights at around the same hour. He didn’t ask to go out or seem to want anything other than to wake my husband. We’d read stories of dogs alerting to their master’s health issue, but my husband couldn’t recall waking with any discomfort.

One evening a few months later, we watched a historical movie about women spies in WWII and the violence they endured at the hands of the Nazis. That night, I had a nightmare. I was trapped in a house with an abusive stranger. I escaped the building and ran down the long drive toward the street, hoping passersby would help. The man caught me before I reached the street, but I was close enough to see the passing cars. He swung a heavy board at me. I screamed and kept screaming, praying my screams would attract people’s attention.  

Cooper woke me up. He alerted to my distress even though I know I hadn’t made a sound.

Now we understood why he woke my husband. As a retired police officer, he is prone to nightmares, a form of PTSD, not uncommon among law enforcement.

Besides guarding our house and alerting us to anything out of the ordinary, Cooper also guards us from emotional distress. We didn’t train him to do any of these things. They are innate. He is intelligent and perceptive, but this is a whole new level.

We are blessed to have this four-footed angel as our companion.

Have you had an unusual experience with a furry companion?