We spent the entire summer waiting to lose our dear Lily. Summer was hard for her, the camper and lake took it's toll. We cared for her, we carried her, we doctored with her as her back legs got weaker and weaker. She slept and she slowly limped through the hot days of summer.
We were trying to help her grow old as gracefully as possible.
And then we got a message about a just born little puppy... a puppy born at the beginning of fall. Our name had been on a list, our name had been on many a list, as we waited for a pure bread female yorkie puppy.
Never in my wildest dreams, when we agreed to take one of those dear little puppies, did I dream we would get to enjoy not one, but two, dogs together. And they aren't just in the same house together, tolerating each other... no, they are truly family, they truly love each other, something like I have never seen before.
As I've talked about before, our Lily was a rescue dog... a dog with a past, but also a present and future we have filled as full as we can with love and understanding for her. She spent most of her day hiding under our couch or under our bed. In the camper she spent most of her day sleeping in the farthest back corner under the table. I assumed we'd have already said our goodbyes to her by the time our little Piper would be brought home... and if on the off chance she wasn't... I assumed Lily would probably spend much of her time hidden far away.
Adopting our Piper puppy was a much bigger undertaking than I ever imagined or hoped. But in the end, she did in fact become part of the Crane Clan, and we welcomed her in and went right to work trying to get her healthy. She lived with us for over a month before the geriatric Lily and the pouncy bouncy Piper were finally introduced.
And it was quite the introduction, let me tell you. The first three days there was so much barking and Lily snapping and Piper pouncing I thought I might lose my mind amid all the chaos and noise... I was fairly certain we were going to regret our decision, and I was fairly certain our grumpy Lily was going to remain grumbly and stand-offish for the remainder of her very numbered days.
And then the strangest thing happened. As I sat on the chair in the living room on the forth day, attempting to keep the peace between them, I noticed what I thought was perhaps our little old Lily attempting to ... play. But she had no idea how to ... play. I watched her walk over to Piper and bark and attempt to very oddly, very awkwardly, interact. As I watched her closer, I realized she wasn't standing her ground trying to run Piper off, she wasn't trying to bark down and back down the younger peppier Piper... no, she was trying to figure out how to ... play.
And from that moment on, those two have become best of friends, two little barking peas in a pod as we say as they run past us nipping and bouncing and chasing and playing.
I stood in the kitchen this morning watching them. And it struck me how much younger Lily seems to have gotten. She runs, she plays, she chases... she does on occasion get jealous and hide all of Pipers toys under the couch which she does still retreat to on occasion. (Lily has no teeth and no toys of her own, and never has...). I don't wonder anymore if she'll still be alive in the morning when my alarm goes off. It's honestly the strangest and most enduring thing. She hasn't limped all winter, she is even able to jump up by herself onto the chair and perch herself back in her favorite window watching spot in our bay window.
I never dreamt Lily would be playing... I never dreamt Lily would be so taken and attached to another dog. I never dreamt Lily would actually still be here. And yet there she is, happy and seemingly healthy again.
She overcame change, great change, in her old age. And that change has benefited her and made her better. It has made her days fuller and richer, it has made our days fuller and richer. As I watch her roll around on the floor with Piper, I can't help but think of my life, and others around me that are also in the midst of change, great change.
How many of us in our old age put up resistance, bark and try defend our territory, hide in the dark recesses of safety when we feel threatened? How many of us snap and snip and attempt to stand up and resist that which is new, that which is foreign, that which is unknown, that which is not easy and may require something from us - great somethings from us?
It's so hard to let our guards down, so hard to accept a new status quo, so hard to age gracefully.
And yet, that is exactly what God is asking us to do day in and day out. He created us and He created this world to be in constant change and flux. The world is always spinning, the days and nights are always evolving, the months and years are always continuing to pass. We are forced over and over to embrace and overcome change. We are required to open our hands and simply let it go. The harder we try hold on, the tighter we cling, the worse it all gets, the messier we all make it.
But what if that long resisted change leads to healing, to a new relationship, to a new joy, to an extended lease on life, like our dear Miss Lily is getting the joy of experiencing right now in her life? I shake my head over and over in awe and wonderment lately as I watch her, as I watch them...
And I can't help but question why it is that we question, why it is that we resist so strongly.
Why do we often question all the changes around us? Why do we often resist all the changes being asked of us? Why do we often hesitate and doubt as we tiptoe forward into the unknown?
Why do we struggle so with the simple concept of trust?
We do, we all do... it's simply human nature. But it is my hope, at least for myself, that the next time I am tempted to pull away, put up my dukes, raise my defenses, dig in my heels of resistance, that I take the time to remember, take lease on the lessons of how change can in fact bring back the joy and sheer youthful return of health and life, just like in my dear little Lily.
We don't always like it, we don't always understand it, we rarely openly embrace it, at least at first... but it is my hope and prayer that we can simply learn how to trust. Trust the path, trust the reasoning, trust the unknown, unseen, uncharted frontier standing in front of us.
Take the deep breath, take the first steps, take the leap and simply trust. Openly accept, eagerly greet the unknown, and then joyfully and playfully chase after all that will follow. I think we might be unexpectedly amazed at how youthful and happy it just may leave us.
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