Each day I awake to the delightful warmth of one cat cuddled at my side and two dogs at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me to come down to them for their morning petting. The excitement of a treasured pets response to human interaction is unlike anything I’ve experienced. One wags her tail so excitedly that it looks like a windmill going in circles. Waiting at the bottom of the staircase with anticipation.
We’ve had two cats for awhile now, and with the addition of two dogs in the last year, I have to say life are has come full circle. We used to say we were cat people and not dog people…haha well that certainly has changed. The joy they bring to our lives is certainly nothing short of true bliss.
How did we get here? I have to say that God’s roll in our lives is never ceasing of His love. He guides, protects, and has plans for us that even we could not imagine. To think that a year ago, my daughter and I were heading to FL for a girls week of fun in the sun, only to return with a 24 hour car ride home with a sweet little puppy from Alabama. Helping one friend find a home for him and another friend find the love of their lives. For Sydney and I, it was bittersweet. We fell in love with that little guy so much so in 24 hours that we sobbed in handing him over. That experience led us to realize that a dog was possibly the completion to our family unit.
The weeks went on and our daughter continued to look for the same breed that our little Alabama friend was until finally she found one that was going to be transported to the local rescue from Missouri in just a few short weeks. Looking for a foster home first, then adoption the sweet face of that little munchkin melted our hearts. We knew she had to be ours. Ironically, one of our friends mom ran the rescue locally. She was able to to secure our little Lexi so that we could foster her and “see how it went”. Of course, it wasn’t long and we knew we had to adopt her.
The family unit, we thought, was complete. That is until we went to Scotland and Lexi played with two other dogs for almost 2 weeks. When we brought her home we quickly realized how much she needed another dogs interaction. We decided to adopt a black lab brought up from Alabama who was found in a kill shelter and brought up to our state. He is the most gentle giant we know. He and Lexi have become brother and sister, Gary and I have become parents all over again (as they act like toddlers sometimes….) and the kids are loving having dogs.
Who would have thought…..I mean, you would think a simple trip to Disney would be exactly that, simple. Yet for us, it was unknowingly the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. A new chapter that brings us great joy daily.
All of this has had me thinking about life in general. We think that we plan out our lives, detail for detail, thinking that we know what is around the next corner. Yet, we are not actually in control. We are subject to the greater good of a God who loves us and who cares for all of our needs. A God who watched His own children fall into sin, only to love them enough to bring them back to himself by sacrificing. Making a sacrifice of his own Son so that the sins of man will be forgiven. How often do we consider what a loving God we have? How often do we take for granted His mercy and grace in our lives when things do not go “as we planned”? Sometimes, we need to reflect on His love, the outcome of our situations, and the blessings that we receive through His plan of redemption in our lives.
As I look at that trip to FL, I actually see the blessing of three lives that were saved due to the unexpectedness of that trip. Little Gus, whom rode home with us, the farm dog that needed a home, Lexi a rescue whose mom abandoned she and her litter mates at birth, and Dakota, the good natured sweetest boy who was found at a kill shelter. To be able to see those blessings, is also a blessing. To have the eyes to see something out of the unplanned circumstances that we had not planned on happening.
God’s plan is always perfect in our lives. We have nothing more to give other than praises and thanksgiving to a God who knows, sees, hears, and glorifies.
