“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIV

Prayers are a necessity in these times of uncertainty and sickness and stress. One of our promises in the Bible is that God hears our prayers. “I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.” Psalms 17:6 NIV

But during this difficult time for our country, we have also been dealing with another issue, closer to home. Our younger dog, Traveler, is our cuddle pup. My husband has even dubbed her “sugar bear” because of her constant desire for snuggling! In late February, she had some raised, red areas on her back, side, chest, and muzzle. At first we, our vet and us, thought it might be related to her allergies (she has many!) but no treatment seemed to bring any improvement.

During a visit, our vet removed some cells from one of the raised lumps and diagnosed her with mast cell cancer. Wow, cancer; that threatening, scary and deadly word. We were devastated. Traveler just turned four in March. A biopsy of the spot on her chest confirmed stage 3 mast cell cancer. Our vet gave her 6 to 12 months. We were torn. We want to provide her with the best care, but also want her to have the best quality life for the time she had left.

We opted for recommended, but non-invasive, tests to determine the extent of the disease, chest x-rays, sonograms. When these appeared to be clear, our vet recommended that we remove the remaining tumors. So a week and a half ago, she had the remaining ones removed. She is now a little checkerboard of shaved places; but still her boisterous, loving self.

Needless to say, our little “sugar bear” was added early on to our prayer list. At first it felt a bit odd, but this verse kept playing in my head. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” Matthew 10:29 NIV God cares for all of His creatures.

A friend of my husband also asked to pray over Traveler. So Mark took Traveler in and she was prayed over by Bob. She was also prayed for by us and our children. And we already know that God hears our prayers.

Last week our vet called. He sounded happy and surprised. The biopsy from the last surgery (to remove the tumors) showed no cancer! None. No fungal infection, no nothing, just some skin inflammation. Our little Traveler appears to be healed. And we can only thank the good Lord for it all! He has answered our prayers!

We have received a bright ray of light in an increasingly dim time. But I realize more than ever that God is with us always. Even when life seems bleak and tough and the majority of the news is bad, God is with us, carrying our burdens, holding our hands, sheltering us under His wings, answering our prayers, and loving us through it all. Our God is here!

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for joining me this week as we confidently pray to our God, feel Him with us, and know that He hears and answers our prayers.

Blessings as we all continue to pray for our world, our families, our communities, our loved ones, and ourselves!