Her Injured Dog Taught Her to Trust in God

A trip to the vet became a lesson in overcoming doubt.

Illustration of a dog

I fidgeted as I sat in the veterinarian clinic with Sunrise, my golden retriever, waiting for the doctor to come into the room. Blood ran from Sunrise’s right ear, down her golden coat, and pooled on the floor. She had ripped it open on some barbed wire fence, and it wouldn’t stop bleeding. I gently touched her ear and cooed, “The doctor will get you fixed up.” I wished that my own problems could be fixed so easily. I was facing a major decision, which I had prayed about. Just when I thought I had received the answer, I’d begun to doubt and spiral backward.

Sunrise wagged her tail as the veterinarian walked into the room, but when the doctor reached for her ear, she turned her head. No matter how the doctor tried, Sunrise kept her ear out of reach.

Frustrated, the doctor stepped back at the same time I thought of a solution. Sunrise’s right ear was next to me. I reached down and gently flipped her ear flap to the left side of her head, the side the doctor was on. The doctor easily examined the ear—Sunrise thought it was me touching her ear.

I grinned. “She wouldn’t let you touch it because she didn’t trust you.” Those words struck me. I had some trust issues, too. My doubts about my decision were the result of not trusting God.

In time, Sunrise healed, and so did I. By investing time with God and recounting his faithfulness toward me, I committed to trust him.

Lord, thank you for your faithfulness. Amen.

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