What's this all about?
Does God even “do dogs”? He asked her, “I honestly do not know if it is even appropriate to pray about your dog,” Tim continued to speak with his wife over the phone. “they say they want to remove his leg tomorrow…..”No! Cried Karen, we can’t. We can’t do that to Winston!”
Bone cancer. How could he have bone cancer? He is only 4 years old. He has a great pedigree. He has nothing like bone cancer in any of his family history. We have been doing ministry together for 3 of his short 4 years of life. He cannot have bone cancer! Yet, there it was on the large screen in front of him. The Vet he had been referred to is close friends with the Oncology Department Head at the local university. They had conferred and he had agreed 100%. It was advanced and it was aggressive. “Act now or lose your dog in weeks. They can take him tomorrow at the university but that will cost ten to twelve thousand dollars. Or, we can remove the leg tomorrow. That will cost about four thousand,” the vet told him flatly.
In a split second, Tim thought he heard, in his heart, that “still, small voice” that people talk about. He was reminded of a story he had heard years before in which God had fixed a man’s guitar. The entire story flooded back to him in an instant and he believed he heard God say, “If I care enough about a man and his guitar, then I care enough about a man and his dog.” That was it. Wait. That was it? God, can’t you be a little more specific? Can’t you write on the wall or something? Does that mean you’re going to heal Winston or does that mean…. what does that even mean?
Tim turned to the Vet. “I believe I have another option.” Shocked and seemingly offended, she just stared at him as if he were an idiot. The unspoken question of “what is it?” was written all over her face. “I believe God is going to heal my dog,” he told her. He could hardly believe the words had even come out of his mouth. Was he crazy or just stupid? He didn’t know which, he just thought he had heard from God and that was all he had. Her stare changed to slight disappointment as if he were some pathetic soul. “…if that’s what makes you feel better,” she said condescendingly.
The story of Winston is an inspiring, heartwarming tale of a man, his family, his treasured friend and hunting partner- a yellow Labrador retriever, and their battle with canine bone cancer. However, there is so, so much more to the tale. Faith. Obedience. Patience. Praying, Listening. Acting. The Story of Winston will likely make you laugh, cry, and change something on the inside. It challenges our basic beliefs about God and miracles and people. Parts of it seem unreal, yet, it is real and true. Tim bares his heart and is unashamedly open and vulnerable as he writes this book about his dog Winston and how his battle with cancer changed the lives of many people around him.
