I think I like Wisconsin.
On a lot of our tours Rich rides on roads with traffic. Becky worries about that, but what bothers me is that I don’t get to run with him.
When Rich gets ready to ride, I get excited. At home I always get to go along, so it’s really sad when he takes off without me. But on this tour I’ve been along on almost every ride.
When I get to go along, I feel like I’m part of the team.
Being on a team is important. Rich says we were created to live in communities. I don’t know about that—I’m just a dog—but people and dogs are mostly happier when they’re working and living in teams.
Monte’s right. I’m speaking later this week at a rehabilitation celebration, and I’ll focus on community.
Rehab from an injury or illness is a difficult, painful process, one which requires determination, tenacity, and courage. The struggle’s as much emotional/spiritual as physical, and it demands hard work that can’t be done by others.
More than anything else, rehab requires hope. With hope, the confident expectation regarding the future, it’s possible to endure the struggle. Without hope, there’s no reason to try.
Without hope, we die even as our heart continues to beat.
Hope, I believe, comes from community. Hope comes from people willing to come along, to encourage, to see possibilities when they’re invisible to the person who desperately needs them.
When you can’t see beyond the immediate obstacle, hope comes from relationships with others and, ultimately, with Jesus. When you know you’re not alone, when you know you’re loved by others and by God who always keeps His promises, you can face an uncertain future with hope.
Hope—authentic hope—changes what’s possible.
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For a dog, that’s a lot of words. I don’t understand hope and God and rehab, but I can tell when Becky or Rich are sad. And when I get close, they usually smile, and that makes me happy.
And when we meet people, lots of them smile and talk to me and then to Becky or Rich. So I guess that’s part of my job—making people smile.
I think that helps them have hope.
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