Haley's Hangdog Holiday by Tamie Dearen

Author:Tamie Dearen [Dearen, Tamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pronoun
Published: 2016-11-14T05:00:00+00:00

“IT’S NOT THE SAME WITHOUT Gammy, is it?” Sitting on the porch, staring at the snowy mountains, Haley sipped her hot chocolate, warmed by the heavy wool blanket tucked around her body and the fifty-five pound canine heater curled up on her feet.

“Nope,” Tad answered from his spot beside her on the glider. “I can’t believe it’s already been a year since she died.”

“And I can’t believe she left the house to you and me,” said Haley. “Although, I guess it’s just the same, since we all come here for the holidays together.”

“True, but I might consider living here some day. We could both live here for a while. We get along really well.”

“I don’t know if I could handle living with Bojangles.”

“You like him well enough when he’s keeping your feet warm.”

“That’s true,” Haley admitted. She glanced over his shoulder toward the family room where her mother sat in front of the fire. “I don’t think Mom’s doing very well.”

“Because it’s been a year since Gammy died?”

She shook her head. “Because Dad’s gone on business all the time and she doesn’t have me to take care of any more.”

“She has no one to control,” said Tad with a wry grin.

“Yeah, and I think she’s lonely.”

“Doesn’t she have a lot of friends in that ladies’ club?”

“They aren’t real friends. You know what I mean? Real friends love you unconditionally. They’re kind of rare.”

“Who are your real friends?”

His serious response surprised her, as she halfway expected some teasing crack.

“Chloe—she’s on my praise team at church. She and Mark, our praise team leader, are the only people outside the family that know about the cancer. Chloe and Mark... and you. That’s it, I guess.”

“Hmmm...”

“Chloe really helped me get a different perspective on my cancer. It turns out she lost both of her parents in a car wreck three years ago.”

“That sucks.”

“Right. And she was like me—angry with God—and pretty certain it was somehow her fault.”

“Now you don’t feel that way?”

“I’m not totally healed, but I’m a lot better. She told me to read the story about Mary and Martha, when Lazarus died and Jesus could’ve stopped it from happening if He’d come faster.”

“And that made you feel better?”

“No, you see, Jesus wanted Mary and Martha to learn to trust Him. So He waited a few days before He came. When He got there and they told Him Lazarus was dead, He cried.”

“Okay... so what?”

“Don’t you see? He already knew Lazarus was dead before He got there, and He already knew He was going to bring Lazarus back to life just a few minutes later. So why did He cry?”

“I don’t know. Why?” Tad looked like he was considering calling the people in white coats to come fetch her.

“Because He cares. He’s not some harsh celestial being who enjoys punishing people. He loves us. He loves me. And He doesn’t make bad things happen to teach people lessons. Bad things happen to everyone, just like good things—whether you’re good or evil. The thing about following Christ is you can learn to have joy no matter what happens.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.