Aspen...On Eagle's Wings

Some dogs are the greatest companions in the world.  There’s an old cliché that says, “If you want a friend, get a dog.”  Though I think there are plenty of people who make great friends, my dog Aspen, without even trying, was simply the best friend imaginable.  Visit  “A Good Friday to Remember” for the story of how our relationship began.

We became such a team that most people didn’t know my name was Karen…they thought it was KarenandAspen.  We were inseparable.  Aspen was beautiful, well-behaved and loving, the epitome of what you hear about Golden Retrievers.  She even developed a game called “Woof!”  It began with a little rumble in her throat that I would mimic back at her.  Then, it would grow into a soft growl.  Again, I would mimic the sound.  Next would be a tiny bark.  Yes, I would quietly bark back at her.  Then a medium bark, until finally we’d worked up to a great big woof.  When I mimicked the final woof, the game was over.  It was great fun, and we only played it when she would initiate it.  It was her game, after all.

Aspen was, true to her breed, a water dog and a bird dog.  She was trained for neither, but showed the instincts born within her.  I always joked that if she sniffed out a tablespoon of spilled water on the floor, she’d go and sit in it.  That was a tiny exaggeration, but not much of one.  She was quite the swimmer and couldn't resist the allure of pools or streams unless she was restrained in some way.  On the bird front, she was never trained as a hunting companion, but she did on occasion find baby birds that had fallen from their nests.  She would gently gather them into her “mush” mouth, not making a mark on them, and proudly bring them to me.  Even though the little birds were dead, I could only praise my girl for showing the ability God designed into her.

Late in her life, after she passed her 14^th birthday, Aspen began walking with a severe limp.  Her veterinarian prescribed various medications which helped for a time, but whenever we began to back off the dosage, the lameness returned in full force and even became worse.  This was the beginning of the end for “my girl.”

On June 15, 1998 early in the morning, Aspen and I said goodbye for a final time.  It was a very sad day, and due to my serious heartache, I took the day off from work.  I found myself perusing recordings in a local music store that afternoon and purchased a Michael Crawford CD of inspirational melodies.  When I came home and popped it into my stereo, I heard him sing, “And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of his hand.”  I knew this song and the Bible verses that inspired it from Psalm 91 and Isaiah 40:31, but never expected to encounter what happened next.  I had a vision.  It was not a daydream, or a night dream.  It was not wishful thinking.  It was a vision.

I saw very clearly my girl, Aspen, flying across a blue sky on the back of an eagle, her red fur glistening in the sunlight.  She looked into the breeze as they flew toward a certain destination.  The image was vivid, and I saw it several times over the days following her death.  Eventually, I saw it no more, but maintain the memory it evoked.  I truly believe God heals our heartaches in ways that He knows will comfort us.  Indeed in ways we might never expect or have encountered before or since.

This happened to me, and it brought me peace.  It filled me with a sense of awe.  God is good…very good!