In Praise of Casey

7/22/21

The tapestry of our lives is God’s handiwork if we let Him weave into it.  God will weave in and out the thread of His mercy and grace through the pattern of our years.  As we grow older, the tapestry grows larger.

Sometimes we can see the threads of mercy and grace ~ we catch a glimpse.  But most times we cannot.  These tendrils of His care cannot always be seen by the naked eye but only through the eyes of faith as the Spirit reveals. 

And so, it is with this story.  I could not see the thread of the Lord’s kindness until the Spirit opened my eyes to the tapestry.  A year after we put our beloved Titus down at 14, our neighbor Merrilyn called.  She had the perfect dog for us who was in desperate need of a home.  I said ‘No’!  We had just put in new carpet and we were still grieving the loss of Titus.

Merrilyn called again a few months later…if we didn’t take in this lovable male pit bull, he would be ‘put down’.  I agreed to meet the dog.  Bobby and I met Casey in August 2019.  We took him in, welcomed him and he became a king!

Casey was perfect in every way.  Not animal aggressive, he was kind, gentle and very well behaved.  He was royal, regal and majestic!  It was as if he were sent directly from heaven.  I called him Casey Manna (as in manna from heaven) Blue (because a grey pit is aka a ‘blue’ pit), Casey Manna Blue!

A few months into his arrival, the Lord gave me a rhyme: “Casey Manna Blue, just a passing’ through.  We love you.”  I did not like the implication of this rhyme.  Knowing a small amount of Casey’s background, we knew he was about ten years old and was owned by a homeless man who traveled up and down California by foot.  Casey had probably seen more of the State than I ever have! 

During his tenure on this earth, he was homed by sweet ladies Corina and Susan who loved him dearly (I am sure there were more too).   Casey was a Casanova…his lady loves kept tabs on him.  I was honored to be the last lady who took him into her heart.  Needless to say, the precious creature needed a home to rest and grow old in.

Within eleven months, Casey became very sick.  We still don’t understand what his ailment was though it cost us thousands to try to help him.  In July 2020, we had to put him down.  The time we had with him was not nearly long enough, but God pulled him back up to Himself and we were undone.  He ruined us for another.  Merrilyn said: “He was too good to stay.”

As you could imagine, much crying and prayer has gone into trying to understand why the Lord allowed our hearts to be broken again.  Sometimes God doesn’t have a lot to say and this was one of those times.  All I heard was: “He needed to be honored and I knew you would do that.”  And that we did.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  (James 1:17).