In this and future blog posts I will be introducing you to the four dogs pictured in the image above, who are the main characters in my upcoming book,Tails of Grace and Mercy: Ayla, Grace, Sadie and Joy. Each of these dogs represents a characteristic of God and the lessons learned during the time they walked beside me in my journey from brokenness to wholeness: Grace, Mercy Joy and Comfort. Today I want to introduce you to Sadie.

Sadie came into my life shortly after Grace passed away in 2011. I really didn’t feel ready for another dog, however a friend felt differently and insisted on sending me links to dog rescue sights. I scrolled through the photos a couple of times but continued to log off and walk away, usually in tears. That is until I saw the adorable face of the 6 month old Border Collie, Australian Shepherd pictured in the image above. I literally felt her cry out from my screen, “Please rescue me.”

When I went to the foster home where she was being kept, I was immediately smitten by her darling face and seemingly peaceful demeanor. What I soon came to realize was that the quiet behavior was actually a form of Disassociation: Defined in psychological terms as “a type of protective behavior where someone appears to be spacing out, appearing detached from surroundings, daydreaming, or with a glazed-over expression in response to trauma.”

I never did find out what all had happened to her. All I was told was that she had been dropped off by a kind man who found her and her mother abandoned, filthy and covered in fleas. The mother had a broken leg and Sadie was very, very sick. It was nearly two months of intensive care before she was available for adoption.

When I chose the name Sadie I didn’t know the meaning of that name until several days later when I looked it up and discovered that Sadie is a derivative of the name Mercedes, which means mercy. I very soon realized just how important and necessary it was for me to extend mercy in my dealings with her.

I was met almost daily with reactive behaviors that stretched my capacity of this important quality to the very limit. However, as we spent more and more time together God continually expanded my ability to love, care and accept her as she was. Over time we made great progress and she began to trust me to keep her in my care.

Sadly however, she died at the young age of four from a rare form of a blood disorder. In my shock and inability to help her recover, and when I couldn’t make sense of her untimely death I blamed myself, thinking that it was somehow my fault. And that is when God met me with such a force of grace and mercy that I was finally able to extend the mercy that I had given dear Sadie to myself.

And in that holy dose of His mercy He reminded me that I too had been rescued. As a young person, broken and traumatized He stepped in and pulled me from the edge of the cliff I was walking toward. By the goodness of His mercy I too, like Sadie have made great progress as I learned to trust Him to keep me in His care.

Please know that God desires nothing more than to rescue you from wherever you are. Lost, broken, suffering and/or alone, wandering aimlessly? He will meet you there and with His great mercy, pull you up and set your feet on solid ground.

Here’s a simple prayer from the book of Psalms.

In your righteousness, rescue and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. psalm 72:2

I urge you to offer that as a prayer, and as you cry out He will indeed rescue you.