I have always been a reluctant pray-er for animals in general and pets in particular. But that reluctance recently changed–abruptly.

Bijou, our 14-year-old, curly-haired, Bichon was diagnosed by the veterinarian as having a stone in his urinary tract. He said it could only be cured by a surgical procedure. I signed the paper and handed over Bijou for surgery. As I did so, Bijou’s luminous black eyes seemed to ask, "Are you sure you know what you’re doing to me?"

The operation was apparently a severe shock to the elderly dog. The stone was extracted, but now Bijou began to urinate and bleed in not one but two places. I found the profuse bleeding particularly troubling and sad. He could no longer be in the house but was relegated to a box in the garage. The Vet assured me that he would eventually get better, but the whole scene was both troubling and, at least in my mind, seemingly endless.

I decided to pray for Bijou. I hadn’t done so earlier. One doesn’t want to unnecessarily trouble God. After all, He has the universe to run and a lot of serious prayers to answer.

But there must have been a nano-second somewhere for God to intervene, because after just one

furtive prayer, the pooch was healed! And since his healing, our little fluffy-white "old man" is now a very bouncy pup!

". . . in everything by prayer"

-knf