world’s ideals of beauty and value, as evidenced by awards ceremonies, magazine covers and other superficial criteria, will never be the Lord’s. He asks that we give of ourselves—of our hearts, our minds and our spirits—to serve others, for when we serve others, we are serving Him. When we do this with compassion, faith and love, we find favor in His eyes.
Missing legs or other physical imperfections matter not nearly so much as missing or unused hearts. I pray that we can each offer our hearts to the Lord, for He will turn our weaknesses to strengths, our flaws to honor, our sins to virtue.
With gratitude for His love,
Jane
If God be for us, who can be against us?
—Romans 8:31
Dedicated to America’s unsung heroes: military dogs. Military dogs save lives, sometimes at the expense of their own. These courageous animals provide comfort and companionship to American troops, detect explosive devices and even shield soldiers from flying bullets. A military dog was deployed by navy SEALs in the mission to capture Osama bin Laden. In 2009, a Silver Star, one of the navy’s highest awards, was awarded posthumously to a dog named Remco after he charged an insurgent’s hideout in Afghanistan.
Contents
Note to Readers
The caw of a crow reverberated through the early morning air, scraping already frayed nerves. Senses spiking, Laurel Landry approached Bernice’s—she had never earned the title mother—storage unit. Bernice’s murder a week ago had brought Laurel to this shabby place at this moment.
Using the key she’d discovered in Bernice’s ancient double-wide trailer, Laurel let herself in and began her search. Sammy, her German shepherd, stood guard.
Buried beneath a stack of boxes, she found a familiar “go-bag.” From the time Laurel had been a small child, Bernice had kept a suitcase for when the two of them had to leave town in a hurry, usually just before the rent was due.
Inside the bag were three items: an envelope containing a picture of a lanky boy and a little girl that was labeled Jake and Shelley and dated more than twenty years ago, another photo, this one of Laurel’s mother and bearing the same date, along with a newspaper article about S&J Security/Protection; a ledger with what might have been names and dates written in some kind of code, the word Collective on the front; and packets of hundred dollar bills. A quick estimate put the amount at ten thousand dollars.
Laurel
