Reconciliation

Back on April 1, I was contacted by a SMN reporter that had been reading up on Georgia from my Facebook page.

Lisa, I was just reading about Georgia and wondering to myself, "How are you not perpetually angry?"

I mean angry at the world. At every human being in it for how society treats other living beings. I'm sure you've seen much more horrendous things than poor little Georgia, yet you keep going back to help more pets.

As the religion reporter, I'm just curious how you do it!

Dana Felty

I wrote back to her. She mentioned that she might contact me in a week or so to do a story about it. So I held off writing the blog. Now that the story has been published, here's my response with a bit of elaboration.

Trust me, I get mad. But getting mad doesn't fix the problem. I've used my blogs and Facebook as an outlet to help me come to terms with a lot of things. If you ever see me in person (that seems rare for us), you'll notice that I always have two charms around my neck. One is the St. Francis of Assisi medallion, the other is a starfish. (They are severely tarnished because I wear it every day.) The starfish is the reason I keep going back. You can read the story here.

Believe me, I have cried many, many times behind closed doors. I have had many conversations and pleadings with God to make things better. But I still hold that God has a plan. While I'd like a few clues every once in awhile, or even a legend key for the map, I know it's something I have to discover on my own.

These animals touch my life in such a way that they always make me a better person. With Georgia, she helped me open my heart to love, and when I was least expecting it, I found it for myself. She is a survivor. She is willing to love and trust and go out in the world with her head held high. We should all be so fortunate. I think dogs like her really help to keep me in my place, remind me of my blessings.

I'll be honest, I'm seriously thinking of adopting Georgia myself so she will always be around to teach people. She has an amazing spirit, and touches everyone whoever meets her. (Side note: I will NOT be adopting Georgia; I have accepted my official pet limit as 3.)

I'm not a saint. I'm not anything special. I still don't know how this whole world of CPR grew to be what it is. God made it happen. I was just willing to go along for the ride and see what happens.