In the heartwarming tale of "Where the Red Fern Grows," we find echoes of destiny, faith, and the profound bond between humans and their furry companions. For Destiny, a single woman on a journey of faith and service, the story resonates deeply, intertwining with her own experiences and aspirations.

Destiny's path in life has been a mosaic of trials and triumphs, shaped by her upbringing on a farm, her struggles with self-esteem, and her journey towards sobriety and self-discovery. Through it all, her faith in God remained a constant, even during her darkest moments.

Now, as Destiny embarks on the next chapter of her life, she finds herself drawn to the idea of pup parenthood. Inspired by the joy her beloved dog Snookie brought to others, she longs to share that same love and companionship with a new furry friend.

"My dream pup would serve others, being a bright light on a dark day," Destiny shares. "She would have energy when needed, like for walks or runs, but also know when to harness that energy, like in church or visiting a nursing home."

For Destiny, becoming a pup parent isn't just about companionship; it's about service and ministry. As a Synod Authorized Minister and aspiring ordained pastor, she sees her future pup as a partner in spreading love and joy to those in need.

"I plan to use my future pup to bridge the gap of loneliness in my community," Destiny explains. "To sit by the dying and welcome life to the living. To be my accountability partner, to be active with me, to enjoy the morning fresh air or the cool evening walks."

With her faith as her guide, Destiny is committed to providing the best life possible for her future furry companion. From researching breeds to attending dog training classes, she's determined to ensure that her pup is well-prepared for their important role in her life and ministry.

As Destiny reflects on her journey of faith and fur, she finds inspiration in the support of her community and the unwavering presence of God in her life.

"Nowadays, my prayers are more than just a 'help me' cry," she shares. "My prayers now are filled with gratitude and praise, even on the days when I feel like I can be better but get frustrated on why I am not."

For Destiny, pup parenthood isn't just about adding a new member to her family; it's about fulfilling her calling to serve others and spreading love in a world that often feels dark and uncertain.

As she takes the next steps on her journey, Destiny holds onto the lessons of faith and love she's learned along the way, knowing that with God by her side, she's destined for a future filled with purpose, joy, and unconditional love of a furry friend.

Destiny's journey is a powerful testament to the transformative power of faith and love. Despite facing struggles with low self-esteem, addiction, and a tumultuous past, she found redemption through her unwavering belief in God's grace. Through her experiences, Destiny discovered the true meaning of love and service, ultimately leading her to pursue a life dedicated to serving others.

In the Lutheran faith, Destiny's story resonates with the core message of salvation through grace. Just as Destiny found healing and purpose through her faith, Lutherans believe that salvation comes not through our own actions, but through the grace of God. Destiny's journey reflects the Lutheran understanding of being saved by grace, a concept central to their beliefs.

Through her newfound faith, Destiny's prayers shifted from cries for help to expressions of gratitude and praise. She found motivation in serving others, embodying the teachings of Jesus Christ to love and serve one another. In the Lutheran tradition, this commitment to serving others is a fundamental aspect of living a life aligned with Christ's teachings.

Destiny's journey also highlights the importance of community and support in the Christian faith. Encouraged by her congregation and inspired by her grandmother's affirmations, Destiny found strength and guidance in the words and actions of those around her. In the Lutheran tradition, the Holy Spirit works through the community, offering support, encouragement, and grace to all believers.

As Destiny looks forward to becoming a pup parent, she sees it as an extension of her ministry to spread love, companionship, and joy to those in need. Her commitment to training her future furry companion reflects her dedication to serving others with excellence and compassion.

In the end, Destiny's story is a powerful example of the transformative power of faith, love, and service. Through her journey, she embodies the core principles of the Lutheran faith, finding redemption, purpose, and joy in serving others and living a life aligned with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Destiny’s Essay:

Reading the story of “Where the Red Fern Grows” and later watching the movie left me in tears, tears of joy, being a witness, and reading of God’s love and His promises that he made to us being fulfilled every day. Billy Colman had the secret to life, and that is seeing how God was working in his life every day having faith, and looking at the good ways he was at work in his life, not just when things were going well. When Billy said, “I walked back to the sycamore tree. Once again, I said a prayer, but this time the words were different. I did not ask for a miracle. In every way a young boy could, I said "thanks." My second prayer was not said with just words. All my heart and soul were in it.” It made me think of my faith and my journey with God.

My name is Destiny; I am a single woman. I do not have any children as I cannot carry my own; my dream is to adopt or foster children one day, to be able to give children love that they never knew even existed. I am on my way to becoming an ordained pastor; currently, I am a Synod Authorized Minister for the First Lutheran Church of Mahnomen, MN. My journey in faith was not always a faithful one. My journey is made of fragments like a mosaic piece of art. I grew up blessed with a mother who worked night-shift as a nurse until I was 23 and a father who battled with being a social butterfly and staying out a little too late; he worked for himself most of my life, roofing, and soda blasting, but my favorite of all is that he is a volunteer firefighter. My grandmother quit working when I was born to babysit me. She is the reason I always came back from the mistakes I made in my old years. She and my grandfather lived on a farm; he was a sheep shearing among other things. Being raised with responsibilities and loving of all people and animals sure shaped me as a kid.

All my life, I believed in God because that is just what we did. I knew he was there, and I knew Jesus died for our sins. I was baptized, attended Sunday School, and was also confirmed. I believed, but I also believed there had to be more. So, because of this need for “more,” I had to find Jesus the hard way. So, until I was 29, I did just that. Now there were many factors that aided me during the paths I went down. Since I loved everyone and saw no difference in people from a young age, but they saw me differently, only because I had to wear thick glasses. The taunting continued until I was in my twenties. I developed low self-esteem. In high school being called “Annabel” (anorexic and bulimic combined) and threats to go eat a burger were added to the list of “what was wrong with me,” and on a few occasions even had food thrown in my face during lunch. I had learned genetics like my grandpa and despite how much I ate, my shape did not change much. I did not develop an eating disorder until I was twenty-three. Unfortunately, due to my low self-worth and words from my father burning into the front of my brain “Women are only good for one thing” I became quite promiscuous. See confirmation and bible camps are great but when what you read and learn is not practiced in your household your path with Jesus becomes a rickety ladder. He is there holding the ladder up, but you do not recognize him calling your name. I started working full-time at the age of fifteen as a chef, attending school online and went back to my senior year to walk with the class. I was a workaholic by age 19 and was in my first and last abusive relationship. I was a functional drinker, I worked hard and partied harder along with the rest of this small town, this lifestyle is what I knew. At age 23, I had landed myself a DWI, God’s hotel (jail) and rehab taught me a lot. I worked hard on myself and learned so many things. Afterward I was sober, competing for bikini bodybuilding and attending AA; life was good, but my relationship with God was lacking. I always wanted to work on it but kept myself busy with work, working out, and more work. This was this void that I was still trying to fill; turns out that drinking was not my problem because being sober did not fill it either. I fell into the trap of escorting to pay bills even though I sat fine working as a corrections worker even was a shot girl in Sturgis for a few years. Turns out money could not fill that void in my heart either. There is a lot more to my story but where I am now and everything little thing in the past does not matter. I love every one of my mistakes because they were the stepping stones to the relationship I have with God today. I know God never left me I just made it hard at times for him to find him but he was always there. Looking back, I can see where he was. His love is all that could fill this void and when I realized that all the need to party, the purging food, the negative self-talk, the need to let others use my body…. It all went away. His love saved me. They say Jesus never leaves; he just may step in the other room. I do not blame him. I am sure it pained my sky father to have to witness all that I was doing. I had to find my own reason to believe, I had to put myself through the worst to because to stand up and say that what is in the bible is true. To be that vessel to stand and say that this love can change the most beautifully broken people.

I was gifted a puppy when my granddad passed back in 2009, a Japanese Chin named Snookie. She came everywhere with us, road trips to New Mexico, and sporting events, she was photographed at every prom and after grandma’s stroke she became a frequent visitor at the nursing home then later when I became a CAN. She would light up the souls of the most “ornery” residents. But like I said in my twenties I was not home a lot and always resented not giving her the best days of me. She was my everything but after I had to put her to sleep in 2020, I turned my heart off to the thought of being able to love something as much as I did her. She was silly, a little ugly, and a dog, only someone with a heart as big as mine could love. But because of God and the role of serving others, my heart has since grown and honestly reading and watching “Where the Red Fern Grows” reminded me of the joy a dog can bring into your life and others.

Nowadays I am motivated by God, to serve him and live a life aligned with living life like Christ. I am motivated by joy, and I am motivated by grief. I am motivated to live a life that one day will in the end boil down to an obituary and I want whoever reads it to read of the love I gave and the love that a four-legged animal brought others love and joy as well. Becoming a pup parent motivates me because I saw what Snookie did for people, and what we did together, and I want that again.

The congregation encourages me every Sunday. As I am new in the clergy world and I tend to make mistakes, but they teach me patience and grace. I am encouraged by my 90-year-old grandma whose affirmations are “You are on the right path, and I know you have your head on straight” She encourages the changed parts of me and not the parts that others want to still see. The Holy Spirit works through all these people.

Nowadays my prayers are more than just a “help me” cry, my prayers now are with gratitude and praise. Praise even on the days I feel like I can be better but get frustrated on why I am not. Praise for the rain and praise for the snow. My faith is having 100% trust in God’s plan for me today, tomorrow, and the next.

My life is all about serving others; I am not here for me. I am here to serve others like Jesus served his disciples. I am a member of the American Legion Auxiliary proudly serving our war heroes and I plan to continue to do so until I am dust again. I plan to use my future AMD so well trained that he/she will come with me everywhere I go, from nursing homes to prisons. To sit by the dying and welcome life to the living. To bridge that gap of loneliness in my community. And to be my accountability partner, to be active with me, to enjoy the morning fresh air or the cool evening walks. It is going to take work, but I plan to do whatever dog training classes I can to ensure I do this right this time. I researched for months learned what breed would fit my wants and prayed to God to shed light. Then I stumbled across your page and learned that your mother came from a Lutheran Family, and after reading your newsletter you have twelve children I believe? I somehow saved the latest newsletter to a folder that I cannot find. But anyway, I feel like this is God telling me that is a pup, and you are meant to be.