Today, I've got something special for you & it involves two loves in my life- my sweet rescue dogs- Bentley and Skylar. I wanted to be sure I remembered them since I promised to discuss them in my first episode!
Bentley is my little Carin-terrier schnauzer mix, he resembles Toto from the Wizard of Oz, and Skylar is my Catahoula Cur, she my blonde girl that has one sky-blue eye and one eye swirled with brown and blue.
If you’ve been following me, you know we moved to Hawaii during the early stages of the pandemic when the country was shut down and only essential businesses were operational. You know that we were able to get ourselves and our belongings to Hawaii, but what you don’t know is that we had to leave our precious dogs behind.
Now getting animals to Hawaii, on a good day is challenging because of the strict regulations imposed to protect the islands from rabies. But, with the pandemic, getting our dogs to Hawaii took on a whole new meaning. Because all the commercial airlines stopped transporting pets with no foreseeable date set for them to resume. So, we had no other choice, but to leave them in Texas with our daughter!
After three months on the island without them, I was missing them like crazy! I felt so guilty leaving them behind and burdening my daughter with two more dogs in a house already filled with kids and animals! I racked my brain trying to come up with ideas to get them here, and none were feasible.
I’m not even going to lie- I was becoming discouraged & depressed.
So, on one of my lowest days with the house all to myself- I sat in my living room and cried. Even though there were just dogs, they made me happy, and I wanted them with me. I told the Lord how much I missed them and asked him to do something!
I had to remind myself that He is a good Father, and He is Jehovah Jireh- the God who provides and makes a way!
It’s not like He hasn’t done incredible things before, but this time the task seemed impossible.
Yet, here we are again. Drawing upon God's character- what He has done for other women in the past. Just look what He did for Sarah and Mary- how He blessed them in extraordinary ways. Their stories are in the Book of Genesis and the Gospel of Luke. But, instead of reading the Scriptures, I would like to read an excerpt from the devotional book – Acts of the Almighty by Walter Wangerin Jr. as he summaries them in a unique way:
"Three angels of God appear to Abraham in the form of common men. When he sees the men coming toward him, he leaps up and offers them his hospitality. "Wait here," he says, then rushes into his tent. "Sarah! Bake honey cakes!" While she does, Abraham roasts a lamb and rushes out again with the food and wine. One of the angels says, "Where is your wife?" Abraham answers, "In the tent." Right, she's in the tent and listening at the door. The angel then says, "In nine months, Sarah will bear a baby boy." Hearing this- Sarah laughs. "Me? With a dried-up womb?" And my husband a hundred years old?" The angel questions, "Why did she laugh?" Uh-oh. Sarah tries to cover her embarrassment. "I didn't laugh." The angel responds, "With God, nothing is impossible." As old as they are, Abraham and Sarah bear a son named Isaac. This time, Sarah laughs with joy. "Who can believe it?" I'm nursing my own baby!"
Now when Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary that she will bear a little boy, she murmurs, “Impossible. I have never lain with a man.” And Gabriel responds, “Nothing is impossible for God.”
Impossible promises? Can an alcoholic get sober for the rest of his life? Can a troubled marriage be saved? Can we make friends with our enemies? Can we adequately care for a dear one suffering with Alzheimer's?”
I had a few questions of my own…. Can God get my puppies to Hawaii in the middle of a pandemic? Better yet- Is He willing to do something so trivial?
I mean, it’s not like my dogs' arrival will bring world peace or anything remotely like what was accomplished through Isaac and His lineage to Jesus Christ! They don’t even compare!
In my case, I didn’t have any angels speaking to me directly saying – “Of course, Noelle- nothing is impossible with God - He’d be glad to help you!”
But, I'll tell you what- I did have someone speak to me barely two weeks later, giving me a glimmer of hope that the impossible just might be possible.
That hope came in the way of a phone call from my dad after church on Sunday, August 23, 2020. He calls me and tells me I need to go online and watch the CBS Sunday morning broadcast featuring "Dog is My Copilot" and to call him back after I've watched it. I hang up the phone and with extreme curiosity, I immediately look it up, watch it, and my heart begins to race. Because the story is about a Wyoming retired surgeon and pilot named Peter Rork; he founded a non-profit organization called Dog is My CoPilot, and their purpose is to give animals a chance to find their forever homes, and they fly animals to adoption centers across the United States and mainly in Texas!
I excitedly call my dad back, and he says- "Noelle- use your writing skills & reach out to them."
Why not? They obviously have a heart for dogs, they have an airplane, and they fly to and from Texas!
I found their website with the typical "contact me" button, but that didn’t feel right. Instead, I took a chance and found the pilot on LinkedIn!
I’ll tell ya what, I pulled out all the stops, left my pride at the door, and wrote the most heartfelt plea for help I could muster. Besides you see- it wasn't just that I missed them, but my son-in-law had just received orders for Montana, where base housing wouldn't allow that many animals, so now we urgently needed to do something!
So, this is what I send to the pilot:
A Veterans Plea
"I just watched the CBS Sunday Morning News & had to reach out. We are struggling to find a way to overcome this pandemic and are desperately hopeful you will be willing to listen to our story.
My husband and I are both disabled Air Force veterans. After my husband gave over 25+ years of service as a law enforcement officer, we retired & set into motion for our little "family" of four (myself, my husband, and our two rescue dogs, Bentley and Skylar) to relocate to Hilo, Hawaii.
It is not the dream we hoped for, as COVID has essentially broken our family apart. Now, our beloved pups may be faced with being turned over to a shelter in San Antonio, Texas. The military family they reside with has new orders to move, and we only have a few months to get them!
Our pets are not service animals and the major airlines aren't flying them. We looked into a pet relocation service, but at almost $10k, that isn't possible.
We are trying our hardest to be creative, think outside the box, and come up with other options to be reunited with our family.
Is there any way your team could help us? Maybe allowing our pups to "join" your caravan to fly them from Texas to California?
We know no one here- no family or friends and miss our Bentley and Skylar tremendously. I can't bear the thought that my daughter can't take them with her, and they might have to be turned over to strangers or, worse yet, turned over to a shelter!
We never imagined that this could be a possibility when we set out to move and that a virus would separate our little family and our dreams of a new life together.
Any help, suggestions, or connections are desperately appreciated! We are willing to donate so that our pets do not become a burden or take the place of another needy animal.
Thank you so much for your willingness to listen! Sincerely, Noelle"
I wrote that plea for help and said another little prayer as I hit the send button and I kid you not, within 10 minutes, Dr. Rork responded! That he would help us! Now that response was just like an angel saying, “Nothing is impossible!”
Dog is My Copilot team went above and beyond- they not only made room on their last flight out of Texas for the entire year by putting Bentley in the copilot's seat and Skylar tucked behind the pilot. They even housed my dogs in Wyoming with foster parents, they provided airline-approved kennels, they made all the arrangements to have a Vet certify them, and completed all the necessary paperwork for Hawaii. And finally, they flew our dogs to California, where they were placed on Hawaiian Airlines for their final leg home!
Now for the most amazing part of all of this- they did it all for FREE!
Come on now…. God is so good! He made the impossible- possible.
He heard my prayers and He intervened. There is no mistake on that Sunday my dad saw that newscast- no mistake that I felt led to LinkedIn- no mistake that Dr. Rork was moved with compassion to literally fly my pups for free to make sure they weren’t left behind!
And after four months of separation, our puppies were finally home, and my heart was bursting with awe of just how good my Father God is and how much He cares- even in the “little things.”
Looking back, I see my initial response was no different than Sarah's or Mary's- "it's impossible." We intuitively know that God is capable, but we doubt that the very God of the universe wants to intervene. Like, somehow, we aren't worthy and deserving- or that God has better or more important things to do!
I experienced Jehovah Jireh- a God that cares so much that He intervenes and makes a way.
As believers, we have a God who specializes in turning humanly impossible situations for His glory and our good! He wants to do the impossible simply because HE LOVES US!
Therefore, we don't need to despair and become depressed no matter how impossible the situation may look. Nothing is beyond the reach of our good Father- all He asks of us in return is to have faith!
In fact, Hebrews 11:6 tells us,
“And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Faith is a requirement for God’s rewards.
I don't know what impossible situation you may be facing- but whatever it is, may I encourage you to give it to your Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, and believe that you are worthy to receive the good gifts and rewards that He has for his children.
Indeed- with God, all things are possible!
Click Here to Listen to this Podcast Episode- https://www.buzzsprout.com/2324960/14867781-impossible-adventures-with-jehovah-jireh-episode-03.mp3?download=true