All creatures great and small

We are just like you. We know the mental load these past few months have had on everyone—especially you. We know you are hurting. We know you are sick of everything feeling so muted and bland with this pandemic nowhere close to being over. We are right there with you. We get it.

But you know who doesn’t? Korra. Who’s Korra? She’s my dog. Well, one of my dogs. I have 3 dogs, and 2 cats. (All thanks to my wife, Laura. . . more about her later.) Korra is the nicest, sweetest, wiggliest dog you could ever meet. It’s amazing how happy she gets when I walk in the door. It’s literally the best part of my day. Sometimes I just come home for a few minutes when I’m having a bad day to have Korra cheer me up.

Wouldn’t it be great if during this pandemic you could have your own little ray of sunshine to cheer you up when you’re feeling blue?

That’s why we at Good Shepherd decided to start a branch of the Living Creatures Ministry (LCM) Therapy Animal program at our church. LCM is a therapy animal training and placement program that supports compassionate outreach and encouragement at churches throughout the WELS/ELS. Laura (that wonderful wife of mine that I mentioned earlier) is a LCM’s lead trainer, so she spends her free time providing free training to therapy animals across the WELS (when there isn’t a pandemic going on).

We’re taking this time during the pandemic to train up a new therapy dog, Stella the Australian Shepherd. When it’s safe to start visiting people again, Stella and Korra can help us show Christian love and compassion to people in our community.

Korra had a unique opportunity to do that this May when she and Laura volunteered with Christian Aid and Relief in Midland, Mich., to help with flood relief efforts. Korra was able to comfort those that had lost their homes and belongings as well as bolster the spirits of the hard-working volunteers.

When it is safe to do so, Korra and Stella will be visiting the high school next door to our Cedar Rapids campus, volunteering with us at events at the North Liberty Community Center, visiting nursing homes and shut-ins, serving as Sunday morning greeters at church, helping at our annual Trunk-or-Treat, and whatever else we can find for them to do! Until then, they are still spreading love, happiness, and God’s Word through their Facebook pages: facebook.com/korratherapydog and facebook.com/StellaLCMTherapyDog.

The therapy dogs serve as an easy way to strike up a conversation with people in our community and give us a chance to explain why we want to show love to others around us—because Christ first loved us! While we might not see someone that interacts with one of the therapy dogs in church next Sunday, we know we are still fulfilling our calling to show love and compassion to our neighbors. We’re still laying the foundation in our community to foster love and trust between the members of Good Shepherd and the members of our community—and we’re doing that with two wiggly, happy dogs that are certain to put a smile on the face of anyone they greet. These days, that’s something we all need!

Written by Billy King, home missionary at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids and North Liberty, Iowa

 

 

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