The Hope of Heaven

Did you know dogs eat tomatoes? I noticed my sister-in-law's garden was dripping with ripe tomatoes. I can't remember ever picking garden fresh tomatoes. I was so excited. I felt like a real pioneer woman, braving the elements and who knows what wild animals and dangerous insects to feed her family fresh and healthy food. 

Look at how fearlessly I am hunting for ripe cherry tomatoes. I found a bunch. I returned from the forage successfully. I will have enough to feed my charges for at least two days. 

Our morning walk was 34 degrees, just a shiver above freezing. I bundled up and Susy and I braved the cold. She remembered all my leash training from the day before and the walk was very enjoyable. The fog was heavy for the first part of my walk, gradually lifting after I returned Susy home so her young joints could rest, and took my old joints on another four miles. I love this town!

AS the fog cleared, I happened to be walking by two of the town's lovely churches. The fog that had draped their spires in a shroud now melted away and the rooftop crosses gleamed in the new day. Praise God for His symbols of hope and renewal, the promises of eternity when the veil of our mortal limitations are lifted. Look up, He says, or you may miss those golden moments of revelation that remain hidden in the heavy mist where you reside.

There is another mystery that I am eager to solve. Each morning, I walk along the river walk which meanders beneath the beautiful historic bridge in one section. Under that section, which is protected from the rain, there is a pile of clothes and blankets. A plastic baggie contains a toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant. The clothes do change each day somewhat, and the position of the blanket is different each day. However, I have yet to find the homeless person living under the bridge. 

Yesterday morning I felt very sorry for him wherever he was. It was 34 degrees. No where in the pile of clothes have I seen anything that would help him endure 34 degrees all night. I have not seen many homeless people at all in this little town. In fact, none. The Northeast is not an inviting place to be homeless in the winter. I don't know what I could do to help, but I hope God will guide me if I ever do get to see the poor man sleeping under the bridge.

I returned home and made Anthony the creative lunch for the day. He was, as always, amused and pleased. I could not find a better audience than Anthony. Since Anthony eats (and wants) the EXACT same lunch every day, my artist palette is limited. One banana, some chips, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He lets me throw in tomatoes as creative accents. You try and come up with a new creation each day. It is not as easy as it looks.

After lunch, I spent the entire afternoon in the sun with Susy working on book 4 of my Unlikely Friends series. The fog was completely gone. I have been so busy with my pro-life work that I have little time to work on my book and it has been "almost finished" for months now. GUESS WHAT???? I finished the rough draft. Now for editing. The homestretch on this one is in sight!!

But every day I pass that pile of homeless stash, and feel sad. I find it particularly emblematic of the intrinsic dignity of human beings that in his pile of things, there are a toothbrush and deodorant. Even in his hopeless situation, there is an apparent desire to be clean. May God lead Him to a place of help, and if it be me, Lord,  show me what to do. If nothing else, help me help him lift his eyes above the fog to the shimmering hope of Heaven.

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Galatians 2:20 

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.