After my parents had been divorced for a number of years and I had moved away, my Daddy met and married a Christian lady named Anita. She is everything I could ask for in a stepmother. It has been Anita’s influence, lifestyle and loving support that guided me back to Jesus Christ even though it has taken me 20+ years to get here.

It has been through Anita’s example and inspiration that I have incorporated into my daily schedule time to connect with God, time to read my bible and time to remember others. Every morning in my prayers, I ask God to use me as a vessel, a tool, to spread his message and to help others in whatever way he sees fit. The morning of April 3 was no exception.

As I flipped open my daily planner, it dawned on me it was the day before my little baby dog Abby had passed away, seven years earlier. I loved that little dog more than anything. Not having children of my own, she was my child, my baby and she had epilepsy. The ten and a half years Abby and I had together are years I would not trade even if I could. That little dog brought tons of joy to my life and many a smile to my face. My love for her and other animals run deep.

Daddy and Anita live with her youngest son and his family and assist with raising the grandchildren. Last Christmas brought a surprise present from the children’s mother, a puppy! The teacup Yorkie named Romo, after the football player, weighed a total of two pounds and followed Anita around the house constantly being under foot. Like most small dogs, Romo had a big ego and an attitude to match, unless of course, he was up against the vacuum cleaner. Then he would tuck his tail and go hide and Anita would have to hunt and seek him out when she finished the floors. It didn’t take long to get attached to Romo. He was cute, little and loving and he was also the first dog I have known of Anita being extremely attached to. Anita loved Romo like I loved Abby.

Later that afternoon, I was talking to my mother on my cell phone when the land line phone rang. Thank goodness for caller ID for I could see what looked like my Daddy’s cell phone number appearing. I did not answer and allowed the call to go to voice mail. Within a few minutes, I finished my conversation with my mother and checked to hear the message I thought my Daddy would have left. I was a bit surprised not to hear a message however; sometimes he doesn’t leave one. I double checked the number to ensure I had noticed it correctly. That is when it dawned on me it wasn’t Daddy calling but it was Anita’s cell phone number that appeared instead. Their cell phone numbers are one digit apart. By now, I was getting a little puzzled since Anita barely has time to look after three grandchildren with hectic and different schedules, a son and daughter-in-law, a husband and tend to a rather large household, give time to her community and serve God much less have free time to have idle chit chat with me or anyone else. Needless to say, her plate is full and over flowing and she deserves and is in much need of a pampering vacation. Knowing this, my first thought was something had happened to my Daddy yet I was questioning in my mind if something like that were wrong, why didn’t she leave a message? I had been meaning to make time to call for it is easy to allow the days to slip past without contact; allowing our busy schedules to come first. I dialed her number. When she answered, I told her I noticed she had called a few minutes prior and was returning her call. After a pause, she said she had not called me. A little taken back by her words, I told her that her number appeared on my caller ID not more than a few minutes before and asked if Daddy could have called me on her phone? She said no, no one had called me as far as she knew and her phone had been with her the entire time. We both sat in silence for a moment when she said, “It was God calling you because he knew I needed someone to talk to.” Instantly I could hear her tear-strained voice. My heart leapt as I as she told me about Romo.

Anita had let little Romo outside as she had many times. Even though great measures had been taken to ensure the holes and escape routes in the fence were repaired so Romo couldn’t escape, he did. That afternoon, he found the one and only hole in the fence that lead to the neighbors’ backyard housing two really big, mixed breed dogs. The dogs are playful and not at all viscous. When they saw Romo come through the fence, they probably thought it was a toy and wanted to play with him. Being the big and clumsy dogs they are, while being playful, somehow Anita’s baby Romo died.

Immediately Anita ran over to rescue Romo’s body but it was too late. While she was knelt down gathering Romos lifeless body, the big dogs didn’t have a clue anything was wrong and continued to be playful while jumping up on her. The dogs did not intend to harm Romo or Anita. Romo is now in Heaven and Anita is unharmed other than her very broken heart.

Did God call me to ensure Anita had someone to talk with that knew and understood the pain her heart was feeling that afternoon? Did God call to give me comfort in knowing Abby was one of his animal angels and she was with Romo as he crossed over the Rainbow Bridge into doggie Heaven? I may never know how the series of events happened that afternoon or why. You might say it was all coincidence and I accept that. For to me, coincidence is God and yes, I believe he does call us.


Christine ~April, 2008