Chain of Love
If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root. Romans 11:17 (NIV)
When I lived in FL, I did some dog fostering and it was quite the experience. Some dogs (of all sizes and ages) were obviously happy pups to be out of their old environment. Many were cautious. A few were downright afraid. There were some sticktights. I never knew what I was going to get but I knew what I offered had to be better than where they’d been. Devon O’Day (All God’s Creatures) shares his fostering activities of love.
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Some of the best dogs I have ever had were never mine. They were fosters. I was just a stop on their road to a forever family that would love and care for them in the way they deserved.
“How can you fall in love with them, get them back from their hard and difficult pasts, and then just let them go?” This is a question I’ve been asked on more than one occasion. It’s almost always asked with a measure of judgment.
But there is something special in being called to be the one who stands in the gap. As a foster family, we help the dogs work through the trauma in order to nourish and teach them that love can be more powerful than any horror. I remember Dobie, who needed someone to nurse her through heartworm treatment. When she left with her new forever person, she said goodbye in the sweetest tail wag, but she was just too happy to linger.
As I think of many dogs who were short-timers in my life, I think of people who have been short-timers, as well. Have you ever tried to make someone a permanent fixture in your life only to realize you were really meant to be a bridge in the gap? Trauma, emotional and physical abuse, substance abuse, and heartache are really tough rivers to cross. Some of us throw out the lifeline to someone who is drowning, and someone else is called to open their arms and become that person’s home. But in between those two are those of us who are called to be the bridge. We open our hearts and stand in the gap, and I find that this is when a lot of love happens.
Letting go—of both animals and humans—may not be easy, but when love no longer needs that bridge, something beautiful happens. This chain of love has many links, and I realize the strength of the chain is in knowing what link I am with each relationship that comes into my life.
God, thank You for the short-timers You’ve brought into my life so that I can be part of their chain of love. When I have done all I can do, let me trustingly turn them over to You. AMEN.