September 19 – “Coyote Talk”

Very interesting day yesterday.  I left for Bay City before sunup and decided to go the beach road since I had to drop some stuff off at the church.  I was listening to the Christian radio station and the started playing a song that had the words, "The Earth is filled with your glory."  About that time I saw a flash of movement just off to my right.  A coyote broke out of the grass and darted across the street.  He stopped briefly at the other side and looked back over his shoulder, right at me, as if to say, "And I'm a part of that glory that you don't get to see very often."  I was amazed.  It was the first time I had seen with my own eyes one of the oft spoken of coyote population in the wild.   After that I started to pray.  For Chris.  For her aunts and brothers and sister.  And in particular for her Dad.  I've been thinking about him a lot.  He is a gruff guy, and I don't know if he was ever a believer.  Chris told me when she called and right after I arrived that he had exploded earlier about "her God" and how he couldn't be a God of mercy.  He sees me as the representative of God, so I was included in the tirade.  Right now he is angry at God and extremely bitter in his heart.  As a result he has absolutely no joy in his life.  Not just because his wife just died.  He's just sad.  Micah probably said it best in a prayer for him the other night.  "Thank you God that Grandub won't be so sad."    It became a pretty intense prayer time, and after awhile I realized I needed some spiritual refreshing, so I decided that I would spend some time just praising God.  And right then the song came on the radio, "Praise You in This Storm."  And for the entire rest of the drive to Bay City, all they played were praise songs.  The one other that jumped out at me when it came on was, "Mighty to Save."  Again, I thought of Chris' Dad.   Chris met me outside and hugged me tightly.  Her two aunts were there.  Her two brothers got there soon after.  The hospice social worker was there.  The funeral home came for the body after all the family had had a chance to say goodbye.    And then we waited.  The appointment at the funeral home to discuss details was not until 2:00.  By the way, the funeral is at 2:00 on Tuesday at Taylor Brothers Funeral Home in Bay City.  Visitation is from 5-9 p.m. Monday evening.   Around noon we were sitting around the table when Chris' Dad, yelled out at Chris from across the room.  His message was clear to Chris and I, but confusing to the aunts.  He wante me out of the house.  I was kind of expecting something like that, so I quietly got up and went outside.  Chris, however, hadn't slept in 48 hours, so that was the final straw.  She also got up, went into the bedroom and packed all her stuff.  The aunts were upset when they realized what was going on, and they each had something to say to him about the outburst.   They came outside and hugged me, apologizing.  Actually I was fine.  I knew he was in pain, and I told them not to give up on God.  I was sure drawing on the incredible peace and power he had given me through that praise time.  Chris finally came out after two or three loads of things she had accumulated over the three months she had been there.  We went with the aunts to Dairy Queen and had some lunch.    Finally we went on to the funeral home for the meeting to discuss details.  Chris' brothers met us there, but her Dad wasn't around.  Finally Chris called him around 2:15.  He answered the phone, but hung up quickly.  Chris naturally assumed he hung up on her.  But about five minutes later he came in with his other daughter.  And he immediately went to Chris and apologized in tears.  I wasn't in the room at the time.  She forgave him, but wondered in her heart what he would do when he saw me.    After the meeting that event occurred.  They came outside and he came over to me with his hand outstretched.  He said, "Would you be willing to forgive an old jackass?"  I told him I didn't see one.  I said, "I forgive you, but I see a man who is hurting, and that's all right.  We can get through this."  Amazingly, he reached out and hugged me.  I know time will tell in areas like this.  The repentance might have been just for the one outburst.  But for yesterday, that's what we all needed to see God do.   I had to leave right after that to get tback to Galveston for a wedding last night.  But on the way out of town, in the rain, I drove over the railroad tracks that kind of mark the entrance to Bay City.  And not very far down the road I saw … another coyote.  And he paused at the side of the road and looked over his shoulder at me as if to say, "I am here, too.  God is worthy of praise."   Psalms 30:11-12 says, "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever."   Father, you are awesome and worthy of all praise.  Thanks for that coyote talk.  I needed it.  Amen.