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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Melody (08/24/06)
It was midnight and I lay in bed, sobbing into my pillow. As a thirty-something single, nighttime can be the loneliest time, and on this early January evening, I had scarcely felt more alone. The new year had been a hard one. Our family had recently suffered the loss of my grandfather, our patriarch and spiritual leader. He was the man who had led me to Christ and had acted essentially as a father to me for most of my life. Now it seemed I would suffer another loss. Living alone in a town nearly100 miles away from the rest of my family, my little red-coated dachshund, Ginger, is more of a companion to me than merely a pet. Just a couple of hours earlier, I had readied for bed and put her out for her last potty break of the night. She eagerly hopped down the front porch steps but her hind legs failed her as she reached the bottom step. Ginger flopped hard to the ground on her backside. Her faint yelp told me she’d hurt herself, but her inability to stand again indicated something was seriously wrong. I stood for a moment behind the screen door, frozen as I watched her drag herself around the yard on her front paws like a broken slinky toy. When I regained my senses I ran to pick her up. As soon as I touched her, she yelped again and eyed me reproachfully. She was shivering from fear and cold. Inside, I wrapped her in a towel and quickly phoned the vet. When the answering service picked up, I begged to be connected to the vet’s home. I did get through to the doctor and after a frantic trip to see him at his office, I was back at home. My little dog was pumped with cortisone and wrapped in a blanket, sleeping – I hoped – in her crate. The prognosis was not good, and I wondered if she would live through the next day. It was a difficult blow for me and I felt keenly the absence of family as I shivered under the twisted covers on my bed. “Dear Jesus,” I whispered brokenly through my tear-clogged throat, “please help me to feel your presence with me tonight. Would you sit here on the bed with me until I fall asleep?” In the stillness of that dark night, I heard him whisper to me: “My Child, I always do.” I am usually too practical minded to “hear” the voice of my savior, but as I lay grieving for my grandfather, the spouse I’d never met, and the pet I believed was even now slipping away, I heard a sweet midnight melody. It came to me softly, the fulfillment of his promise to quiet me with his love and to rejoice over me with singing. I knew I was not alone.

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17 (New International Version)
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Virginia Gorg
09/03/06
Did Ginger live? We are our animal's protectors - like God is ours. Good story - you use words well. I would suggest some white space for reading ease, though. :)
Marilyn Schnepp 
09/03/06
I almost didn't read this, as the maize of writing without paragraph breaks and spaces are so difficult to read...but I'm so glad I did. It was such a touching story, went straight to my heart; perhaps because I've "been there"...and know the feeling of lonliness so well. Loved the story and "if true"...I hope the little furry friend makes it! Thanks for sharing your story.
Sharlyn Guthrie
09/06/06
This is a great, well-written story. Paragraphs with spacing between them would help tremendously. Otherwise it was touching, well-organized, and easy to follow.