Blind Hope: An Unwanted Dog & the Woman She Rescued Page 11

  I watched my friend. Without a doubt, her tears were shed from a recently forged gratitude deep within her heart. They flowed from a woman who was being refined. These were tears that fell from a new place, a new start of freedom. They were not a release of sorrow, but a sweet herald of joy.

  Laurie looked up and smiled through her tears. “No one ever warned me that when you rescue a dog, the life you save just might be your own!”

  She wiped her tears. “In crazy and surprising ways, God has a much greater purpose for this exceptional dog to be in my life. I have chosen to receive this extra time with my beloved girl as a windfall from him, a priceless gift. Because of our unexpected second chance, Mia and I will continue our journey together down this remarkable road. Apparently I still have more to learn from her … much more.”

  When you rescue a dog, the life you save just might be your own!

  “I do too,” I said. “I don’t think Mia’s done with me either!”

  “Yes, it will take me a lifetime to apply the truths she has modeled. For years I tried to build my life on sand by attempting to gain value, acceptance, and love from places, activities, and people. But my blind dog led me to the Rock, Jesus Christ, and helped me to see that he is the only firm foundation.

  “Even though I tried to satisfy my heart with everything but him, his love for me never faltered. No matter how far I ran away from him, he never strayed from me. Through all of my wandering and wayward times, he remained beside me and offered his love, hope, and peace. Yet his gifts became effective in my life only when I finally stopped being my own master and started trusting him.”

  Laurie told me about the many times when she and Mia went for walks, only to have Mia experience an insulin crash. At first this irritated Laurie because she couldn’t finish her jog or walk. But over time, Laurie’s focus shifted from herself to Mia. Her dog was sick and needed her help. From then on, whenever Mia showed signs of crashing, Laurie turned around without hesitation and headed toward their house or car. Nearly every time this happened, Mia would not be able to make it back on her own. That was when Laurie would kneel down, lift Mia to her chest, and carry her home.

  “It was during one of those episodes that God reminded me how he has done the exact same thing for me. Of all the times in my life when I couldn’t go on in my own strength, my Lord was there to pick me up and carry me. I now understand that God will always carry me home.”

  Laurie shifted in her saddle. “Mia taught me that blind hope doesn’t grope around in the darkness trying to find the way. Blind hope doesn’t depend on what it can feel. Blind hope depends on what it knows! Authentic hope depends on what is true. Hope that is real doesn’t come from what we can see—it comes from our heart, from the inside out. It comes from Christ alone.”

  As if in agreement with Laurie’s words, a billowing gust of wind swirled around us. Strands of black hair pulled free of my riding helmet and whipped around my face. I looked at Laurie and nodded.

  She tucked a few flaxen wisps of hair back under her helmet. “Through a forsaken, blind Aussie dog, God has shown me what genuine love and hope actually look like. Mia reflected my own impoverished state and then provided me with the best example, her own life, to reveal just how much my Master loves me.”

  We rode the horses under the sturdy wooden beams of the main gate, up the hill, and into the common yard. Ele and Lightfoot, with fourteen years of trail riding under their saddles, turned like magnets toward the hitching rail. I eased my mare’s gear off and started toward the tack room. Laurie met me with a saddle balanced over her arm.

  We walked shoulder to shoulder across the wood chip–covered yard. I couldn’t resist checking in with my friends, so I glanced over at the peaks in the Cascade Range. Bathed in glorious streams of sunlight, they beamed back, appearing to shimmer their majestic appreciation of all that had just happened in our lives. Not wishing to walk past the moment, we stopped and received the alpine approval. Laurie turned to me, her face a glowing reflection of the radiance that lay before us.

  My dog was blind … but now I see.

  “It’s true. For the rest of my life, I’ll be grateful for this fact: my dog was blind … but now I see.”

  Like the rising of the sun, hope streams forth. Its radiance banishes dark despair in the hearts of those who receive it. Hope summons us to stretch, to step forward, to reach higher than ourselves. Hope transforms all who embrace it.

  What a wonder it has been to watch this renewal of hope in the life of my friend. Day by day, choice by choice, Laurie has persevered to leave her anxiety and pride behind. In their place, peace and gentleness have grown. Where a vacant life of selfishness once echoed with a lonely voice, a life brimming with authentic love now reverberates with satisfaction.

  Laurie would be the first to proclaim that she’s methodically working through her flaws and hasn’t attained anything admirable thus far. However, as her friend, I politely disagree. It is not her words but her actions that reflect the changes inside her heart. Laurie is submitting her life to God. With his help, she is exchanging her despair for his joy, her fear for his peace, her anger for his love.

  Her life is not perfect, but it is peaceful.

  Out of this new abundance, Laurie pours out to others all that has been poured into her. She not only works at Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch, but since following God’s design revealed through a little blind dog, Laurie has been promoted to team leader. One of the roles of a team leader is to motivate others through encouragement and example. Laurie has volunteered to oversee and co-lead a group called SAGE (Seeking After God Entirely), which mentors teenage girls who visit the ranch.

  Remember that marathon we trained for? Laurie and I ran it together stride for stride. We crossed the finish line with hands joined, our arms raised together in united triumph.

  Mia, although slowing down, continues to place one steadfast paw in front of the other, moving forward with her master. The once unwanted dog in need of rescue remains loyal to Laurie, staying true to the task of loving the woman she rescued.

  As for me, I still believe I’m the most blessed woman on earth. I’m privileged to live in proximity to kids, horses, volunteers, and my family of staff. I cry and laugh with them and cheer them on. In every way, I’m sharpened and filled by them. As if that weren’t enough to fill my life with gratitude, every night I walk up the hill and fall into the arms of a husband who loves me.

  Like other rescue stories on the ranch, Laurie and Mia’s reveals how something beautiful happens when we’re selfless in our actions. In our efforts to reach out and save another in need, our own heart is often released from selfishness, isolation, and defeat. In a world weakened by loneliness, great strengthening can happen if we choose to reach beyond our own difficulties and do something for the benefit of someone who is hurting.

  Although our society is highly motivated to recycle things like paper and plastic, we are too often quick to discard damaged people and abandoned animals. With minimal effort, each of us can find the forsaken and rejected souls within our midst. Volunteering opportunities abound, whether it’s mentoring a child, supporting a rescue facility, or adopting an animal. Each of us can make a difference. We can all stand in the gap for those around us who are struggling to find their way.

  In a world weakened by loneliness, great strengthening can happen if we choose to reach beyond our own difficulties and do something for the benefit of someone who is hurting.

  The truth is, in the greater picture, we’re all struggling to find our way. Similar to Laurie’s dog, none of us can see what lies ahead. Like Mia, you might be bounding forward in defiance, circling in panic, or trotting along at your Master’s heels. Maybe you’re curled up in a dark place, too weak to crawl out of your devastation. Wherever you are in this life, whatever challenges you might face, however hopeless your situation appears, there is help.

  Friend, we have a rescuer.… His name is Jesus.

  No matter what our stage
of life, we can always turn toward our Master. Because of Jesus and his great love, regardless of where our choices have led us, we can always choose to turn around. We can always choose him. And when we do, he will come … he will pick us up … and he will carry us home.

  What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?3

  I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.4

  For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.… “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”5

  Acknowledgments

  I’m grateful for

  Brian Thomasson, who cried when I first shared the idea of this story.

  Joel Kneedler, who encouraged me to write this book.

  Alice Crider, who loves animals as much as I do.

  Judy Gordon Morrow, who shouldered with me to do the impossible—again.

  Jenni Reiling, Judy Jeffery, and Larry and Katie Kepple, who prayed this project to life.

  the staff at Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch, who combined all their efforts to clear a time path for me.

  Troy Meeder, who is the love of my life.

  Jesus Christ, who is my life.

  Notes

  1. See Isaiah 6:2–3.

  2. Zephaniah 3:17, NIV.

  3. Romans 8:31.

  4. Romans 8:38–39.

  5. Romans 10:9–10, 13.

  OUR MISSION

  Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch was founded in 1995 by Troy and Kim Meeder.

  After the rescue of its first two abused horses, something wonderful and unexpected happened; children began to come to the ranch. In their simple but passionate efforts to help the horses, they themselves embraced emotional healing. By what can only be attributed to the compassion of a loving God, the lives of the children and horses began to change.

  Since the inception of the Ranch, abuse, loneliness and sorrow have been replaced with peace, belonging and joy. It is a healthy, faith-based environment where children, families and horses choose to embrace hope within the healing circle of unconditional love and support.

  Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch exists to

  RESCUE the horse,

  MENTOR the child,

  offer HOPE for the family

  and EMPOWER the ministry.

  Please visit our website to:

  Learn about our programs

  Sign up to participate in information clinics

  Find similar ministries in your area

  Find out how you can share hope

  www.crystalpeaksyouthranch.org

  We would be happy to hear from you.

  E-mail us at blindhope@cpyr.org.

  STORIES FROM THE RANCH OF RESCUED DREAMS

  Follow a horse where no one else can tread, through the minefield of pain that surrounds a broken child’s soul. From a mistreated horse to an emotionally starved child and back again, a torrent of love revives their barren places.

  In the presence of unconditional love, a mute girl speaks for the first time. A defiant teenager teaches a horse to trust again … and opens his own heart to love. A rescued horse gives a dying man his last wish. A battered girl finds love and protection in the friendship of a battered horse.

  Come visit a place where the impossible flourishes, where dreams survive the inferno of reality—a place where hope rises.

  SOMETIMES, JUST BELIEVING IN SOMEONE IS ENOUGH FOR THEM TO START BELIEVING IN THEMSELVES …

  Hope is like the stars—always there, yet shining brightest in the blackest of nights. It is like the dawn, always rising anew. Hope is for everyone. This collection of more than twenty true stories from the ranch of rescued dreams unveils the heart of true strength and the character of genuine courage. Experience the kind of love and hope that can change a person from the inside out. Because sometimes, just believing in someone is enough for them to start believing in themselves. It’s the galvanizing truth that no matter how deep your pain … God’s love for you is deeper still.

  BLIND HOPE

  PUBLISHED BY MULTNOMAH BOOKS

  12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200

  Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921

  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

  Details in some anecdotes and stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons involved.

  Copyright © 2010 by Kim Meeder and Laurie Sacher

  Photography © 2010 by Benjamin Edwards

  Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, www.alivecommunications.com.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.

  MULTNOMAH and its mountain colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Meeder, Kim.

  Blind hope : an unwanted dog and the woman she rescued / Kim Meeder and Laurie Sacher—1st ed.

  p. cm.

  eISBN: 978-1-60142-281-1

  1. Sacher, Laurie. 2. Christian biography—Oregon. 3. Human-animal relationships—Religious aspects—Christianity. 4. Dog owners—Religious life. 5. Dogs—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Sacher, Laurie. II. Title.

  BR1725.S15M44 2010

  277.3′083092—dc22

  [B]

  2010009799

  v3.0