A little while ago I was on a road trip, driving through the country on a windy cold night.
As I drove, I saw a figure moving towards me on the side of the road. When I got closer, I saw that it was a large animal and that it was walking slowly. Eventually, I saw that it was a great white Pyrenees!
He didn't look right at me, his head was hanging low, so I pulled over on the side of the road to get a look at him. In the darkness, I saw that his whole front was covered in blood. I wondered if he got attacked by coyotes.
I felt so bad for the creature, as it was panting and obviously in shock. He sat on the side of the road when I came to him. I ran to my vehicle and got my dog's blanket and covered him. I stood over him because vehicles were passing us, and I didn't want them to hit him.
Immediately, I got on my phone to try and find help for him. At the same time, I told this poor dog that he would be okay and that I wasn't going to leave him. I called animal shelters, rescue agencies, and even the police. It was a late Sunday night; I couldn't get a hold of anyone.
Eventually, the police came after my waiting outside with him and seeking to comfort him for 45 minutes. My fingers were frozen, but I didn't want to leave the poor dog. He just sat and panted and didn't fight my efforts of standing over him and protecting him from oncoming vehicles.
I was upset, crying and trying to comfort him by patting him on the back. I didn't get a good look into his face because it was dark and part of me didn't want to look in his eyes.
When the police finally came and shone their light in his face, we discovered that his whole bottom jaw was gone! The dog must have gotten clipped on the side of the head by a passing vehicle.
The policeman couldn't take him into his vehicle but said he would drive around to the local farms and try and locate the owners. Twenty minutes later, he came back with the owners, and they put him in the pack of their truck. I never saw him again, and even though I offered to pay the vet bill, the owners never contacted me. I'm pretty sure they would have put the poor dog down.
The whole incident just brings tears to my eyes even now. I was so thankful that I could be with the dog and comfort him in what were probably his last moments.
God spoke to me that night. He told me that this is what He wanted me to do with the rest of my life: comfort and stand by those who are experiencing trauma and pain and listen to them. But most importantly, point them to the one who could heal them.
Maybe you are the one who is injured at this moment through life's circumstances that have left you in great pain and feeling helpless. I want you to know there is a Savior who is very aware of your suffering. He went through a very tragic situation on the cross and was left alone to die. He understands your pain (Matt. 27:46).
All pain is a result of sin in one way or another; either it's caused by others and their choices, or else we suffer because of the consequences of our own choices. The payment of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
Through it all, God stands ready to offer hope and salvation through the work that His Son did on the cross on our behalf. Isaiah 53:5 says, "But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed."
The Lord Jesus is the one who can put the broken pieces of our hearts back together again, because, after all, He is the one who made your heart! Will you come to Him in your brokenness and invite Him to be the Savior of your life? He is willing to save you from the judgment of your sins, and give you help and hope in your situation right now. He heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds (Psalm 147:3).
We can't know God and His healing if we choose to keep carrying the burden of our sins. We need Him to take away our guilt and shame and make us whole and give us His peace.
In this world, we will always have troubles, but take heart! The Lord Jesus overcame the worst that this world could throw at Him and He is a living Savior, who wants to be your Savior (John 16:33).
Will you take Him as your Savior right now? He says, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
Becky Kew is an Intertribal Life distributer, who brings the gospel to Indigenous people in Saskatchewan.
