THE BEST FOR LAST

It's an old and all too familiar story: a once loved pet is no longer wanted.  Emmy must have been between 6 and 8 years old when we met her.  By then she had gone blind from glaucoma.  That, coupled with the marriage of her mistress and the impending arrival of a baby threatened Emmy's status as a pet.  Indeed, it was hoped that Emmie would not survive the summer.  Yet, Emmie was a survivor.  With patience she endured the pain and the sweltering Mississippi heat for another year.

At that point, my wife tactfully intervened and referred Emmy to Ms. Martha Huffiman of the Tennessee Valley Basset Rescue.  Arrangements were made and Emmie was duly transferred to the TVBR.  Between Mrs. Huffman and Emmie, it was love at first sight, on one hand, and love at first sniff on the other.  The swollen eye was removed, thus relieving Emmy of her unremitting pain.  With that mysterious resilience bestowed upon beasts by their Creator, Emmy soon became almost as adept as her sighted friends.  Emmy so endeared herself with the Huffmans that she became one of those special hounds that found her permanent home with the rescue.

One evening, Mrs. Huffman took Emmy to the local Veterans Administration Nursing Home for pet therapy.  Then, the magic happened: she brought joy and a special kind of love to those all but forgotten men and women.  In her twilight years and in her blindness, Emmy entered upon the most meaningful service of her life.  In His wisdom, God demonstrated that none are so old and so crippled as to be without worth: the blind ministering unto the blind, the halt, and the lame.

We can learn much from what the world considers discards....... for Emmy, the best was saved for last.