Our dog Fifi has 3 legs but she runs around as if she has 4. Most days she is a good girl. Which means she eats, sleeps and plays without causing harm or creating a mess. But she is only a 3 year old dog so when she gets into trouble we might be annoyed, but we are not usually surprised. Until, that is, last week.
Opening the door and calling for Fifi to come inside, I turned my back on the door to check her water bowl. Racing in the door she got into the kitchen before my husband commanded for her to stop. About 10 feet of muddy paw prints covered the floor and in their midst stood a sopping wet and muddy girl dog.
Her condition was extreme and wiping her off would not be good enough. So it was decided on a cold November night, that Fifi would have to get a quick outside shower. The garden hose didn't entertain her as usual as she tried to avoid the spray nozzle that was rinsing her body clean.
A few minutes later, towelling her off so that she would be dry enough to sleep at the foot of our bed, she wriggled to be done and out of my arms. That's when I realized how much I am like her.
When God is cleaning me off from a mess I have gotten myself into, or wandered into, or whatever - I cry and pity myself for the discomfort of being cleaned/extricated/separated. When I have to wait in order to take the next step - I am often impatient and pouty. Doubting that God really cares about me - or why doesn't He move more quickly, or answer more clearly?
If I spoke dog, and Fifi had quieted down and let me reassure her that I was doing these things because I wanted the best for her, would she have listened? Would it have made any difference in her attitude and behavior if she had known what the future holds? Which in her case was a warm soft bed on a cold dark night.
Well, if I can assume that Fifi is anything like me, then the answer is "Not likely."
God's Word promises that He will watch over us and care for us. Yet I worry and concern myself about things that I cannot control every day.
Dear Lord, thank You for the reminder that You love us and care for us. Please help us to remember that You see a bigger picture and know what the future holds. This Thanksgiving week we choose to trust that You are watching over us and washing us (see 1 John 1:9) of the mess that is sticking to us because You do care about our futures (see Jeremiah 29:11). In Jesus name, amen.
Written by Mary M. Wilkins
Opening the door and calling for Fifi to come inside, I turned my back on the door to check her water bowl. Racing in the door she got into the kitchen before my husband commanded for her to stop. About 10 feet of muddy paw prints covered the floor and in their midst stood a sopping wet and muddy girl dog.
Her condition was extreme and wiping her off would not be good enough. So it was decided on a cold November night, that Fifi would have to get a quick outside shower. The garden hose didn't entertain her as usual as she tried to avoid the spray nozzle that was rinsing her body clean.A few minutes later, towelling her off so that she would be dry enough to sleep at the foot of our bed, she wriggled to be done and out of my arms. That's when I realized how much I am like her.
When God is cleaning me off from a mess I have gotten myself into, or wandered into, or whatever - I cry and pity myself for the discomfort of being cleaned/extricated/separated. When I have to wait in order to take the next step - I am often impatient and pouty. Doubting that God really cares about me - or why doesn't He move more quickly, or answer more clearly?
If I spoke dog, and Fifi had quieted down and let me reassure her that I was doing these things because I wanted the best for her, would she have listened? Would it have made any difference in her attitude and behavior if she had known what the future holds? Which in her case was a warm soft bed on a cold dark night.Well, if I can assume that Fifi is anything like me, then the answer is "Not likely."
God's Word promises that He will watch over us and care for us. Yet I worry and concern myself about things that I cannot control every day.
But God showed his great love for us
by sending Christ to die for us
while we were still sinners.
Romans 5:8 NLT
Give all your worries and cares to God,
for he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7 NLT
"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,”
says the Lord.
says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything
you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8 NLT
Dear Lord, thank You for the reminder that You love us and care for us. Please help us to remember that You see a bigger picture and know what the future holds. This Thanksgiving week we choose to trust that You are watching over us and washing us (see 1 John 1:9) of the mess that is sticking to us because You do care about our futures (see Jeremiah 29:11). In Jesus name, amen.
Written by Mary M. Wilkins
What Love Is This by Kari Jobe
I love when an ordinary happening in our life brings to mind comparisons of how things relate to God and our actions, This is an excellent writing, Mary
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