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    Nikki Jean
    Nikki Jean
    Nikki Jean
    Ebook101 pages1 hour

    Nikki Jean

    By Lisa A Wisniewski

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Our relationships in life play a role in our experiences, growth, and perspective. The relationships we share offer potential beyond our understanding. This potential is granted by Gods grace, taking us through both good and bad times and allowing us to move forward despite the obstacles before us.

    Nikki Jean is a story about life, relationships, and all the baggage that comes along with us for the journey. It illustrates the special bond between dog and human, a bond based on faith, hope, and love that withstands lifes greatest storms.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWestBow Press
    Release dateMay 6, 2016
    ISBN9781512739381
    Nikki Jean

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      Book preview

      Nikki Jean - Lisa A Wisniewski

      Copyright © 2016 Lisa A. Wisniewski.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      Scripture taken from the New American Version of the Bible.

      WestBow Press

      A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.westbowpress.com

      1 (866) 928-1240

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-5127-3937-4 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-5127-3939-8 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-5127-3938-1 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2016906615

      WestBow Press rev. date: 05/03/2016

      Contents

      Epigraph

      Acknowledgements

      Introduction

      Who We Know

      Chapter One Beginning the Journey

      Chapter Two Intentions and Impressions

      Chapter Three Adopting and Adapting

      Chapter Four Challenges of Change

      Chapter Five Adjusting and Accepting

      Chapter Six Renovations and Reconsiderations

      Chapter Seven Reasons and Relationships

      Chapter Eight Fate and Furry Friends

      Chapter Nine Life Lessons

      Chapter Ten Storms Within

      Chapter Eleven Family Formations

      Nikki Jean

      Chapter Twelve Finding Friends

      Chapter Thirteen Forks in the Road

      Chapter Fourteen Reflections and Rainbows

      The Rainbow in the Sky

      Chapter Fifteen Heartbreaks and Happenstance

      Chapter Sixteen Goodbye Again, Hello My Friend

      Our Last Goodbye

      Chapter Seventeen Finding Peace

      Toward a Lasting Peace

      Chapter Eighteen Perspectives and Perseverance

      Just a Moment's Time

      In Loving

      Memory of

      Nikki Jean

      Epigraph

      A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth. A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds; for he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself. -- Sirach 6: 14--17

      Acknowledgements

      I would like to thank the canine companions throughout my life who have provided me with remarkable insight, rich experiences, and great stories; family members and friends for their encouragement, support, and understanding; and God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon my life. Thanks also to WestBow Press for publishing my work.

      Introduction

      Life is a journey full of relationships, experiences, and perspectives. Our relationships often play a part in our experiences and perspectives. Some relationships take more time and effort than others to flourish. Sometimes relationships are planned, other times they come about naturally or by divine intervention. In either case, a bond is formed. This bond is often tested by life circumstances and events out of our control. How we respond to such tests impacts the strength and integrity of the bond.

      The bond between two creatures has the potential to be extraordinary in many ways. This potential is a byproduct of faith, hope, and love. Our faith guides us through the unknown and provides us hope. Faith and hope combine to lead us to love, where we experience the richest blessings in life.

      The blessings granted to us through time provide perspective to view the world around us. Though the view may be dismal and dreary on the surface, perspective allows us to see through the gray clouds to the rich, vibrant colors waiting below to be discovered, nurtured, and treasured.

      One of the greatest blessings ever bestowed to me was my dog, Nikki. Our relationship formed a bond full of faith, hope, and love. Through this bond, I found a new perspective in which to view life. This perspective became increasingly important in providing strength to endure life's trials and tribulations, and in helping me care for my grandmother later in life. Nikki also helped me to see nature's many wonders and lessons. Because of Nikki, I developed a more intimate relationship with nature and learned to appreciate the little things in life we may take for granted, such as the sunrise, the sky, and even raindrops.

      My experience with Nikki leads me to believe that who we know or come to know in our lives plays a part in our understanding, growth, and character. As humans, we naturally need interaction with others. This interaction may be positive or negative in nature, but how we view this interaction is what ultimately impacts us most. To help illustrate my point, I wrote the following poem:

      Who We Know

      Who we know and how we know them

      Are seeds sowed where we have been,

      Watered by time and sustained by the sun

      In the garden of life where each day begun

      Offers opportunities to explore

      In the beauty placed before

      Us in the art of nature's ways

      Spread near and far by the coming and going of each day.

      Who we know and how we know them

      Allow us to grow shoots and stems

      Emerging from the earth in shades of green

      Spreading worth from the seed

      That becomes a blossom or a vine

      Conveying thoughts that mend and hope in time

      To connect with and build upon

      As our roots spread out beyond

      The weeds and the brush

      To fulfill the need in each of us.

      Before Nikki entered my life, I was always in a hurry to accomplish tasks and move on to the next item on the to-do list. Though I was experiencing life, I was not really living life. Once Nikki came to live with my grandmother and me, I started to recognize that the little things mean the most, and the bigger things are often not all that great once you remove the showy exterior façade.

      This story is one I share with the hope it helps others in some way, even if that way is small in the grand scheme of life. Though this story is true, some of the names have been changed for privacy purposes.

      Chapter One

      Beginning the Journey

      Nikki and I met for the first time in April of 2002. It was not a chance meeting, but rather one of those divine interventions that we don't quite understand when it happens. A few weeks earlier, I started searching for a dog for my grandmother. Gram lived next door to me all my life. She lost her beloved German shepherd, Ginger, to hip dysplasia years earlier. My grandfather passed before I was even born. Always very independent, Gram disliked asking for help---although she did enjoy when my cousins, my sister, and I helped her with house and yard work.

      As a youngster, I dreamed of someday buying Gram's house and raising my family there. In my teenage years, Gram and I spent a lot of time together. Arthritis left her with some limitations, and as the oldest of her grandchildren, I felt obligated to help with chores she could no longer do. On weekends, my

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