God’s Creatures

God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there.  Billy Graham

My dog is mad at me.  The last few days my husband and I have been trying to figure out why.  There are a few options.  Any time I go out of town and leave him he acts differently when I return.  Here is an example.  When my husband and I went on our honeymoon my dog stayed with my parents.  When we returned he ran up to my husband and wagged his tail and howled.  He ignored me.  He wouldn’t even look at me.  If I tried to look into his eyes he would turn his head the other way.

So this week I bought his food but I switched it to a different kind that he normally likes.   So I get up every morning and feed him.  I put his food on a paper plate.  Every morning this week after he eats he goes into the kitchen, picks up the paper plate that his breakfast was on and carries it into the living room.  He then proceeds to shred the plate into tiny pieces all over the living room floor.  Yesterday Jerry bought him the other kind of dog food he likes because we thought he might be mad because I switched dog food on him. 

Today I figured out that he is just mad at me for leaving him for a week.  I know, you don’t have to tell me my dog is spoiled.  When he is ready to go to bed he goes into the bedroom and starts talking.  He is a creature of habit and if I don’t go to bed the same time every night he will sit in the bedroom and make noise.  He doesn’t bark he just grumbles every 15 minutes or so. My husband and I will be sitting on the couch in the living room and he will be in the bedroom grumbling. 

My dog is 12 years old and set in his ways.  He makes me laugh more than any other dog I’ve owned.  He has an internal clock that goes off in the evening when it is time for his treats.  He sits in front of my husband and does the stare down.  I kid you not, he doesn’t blink he just stares.  He also shakes your hand for treats.  The thing is I know my dog loves me unconditionally.  He may give me the cold shoulder when I leave him but he still loves me. 

One day my dog will pass on and I will be heartbroken because he has been with me through many of the trials in my life.  When I had cancer he would curl up at the end of the bed and wouldn’t leave my side.  He always gets over being mad at me but I can always depend on him to love me without fail. 

God loves us the same way.  If He didn’t He would not have let His only Son die on a cross for our sins.  A blameless son died for a sinful world.  Do we disappoint God just like I disappoint my dog?  Yes we do, over and over again we disappoint our heavenly Father.  The thing is He keeps taking us back even when we fail Him.    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, my dog often gives me a picture of what Your love is like.  I praise You for loving me even when I don’t deserve it.  When I fail You are still waiting for me to return to You.  It is hard for me to comprehend a Father who loves a sinner like me enough to allow His Son to die on a cross so that I could be redeemed. Your love is amazing.

Scripture:    In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”  Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. Revelation 5:12-14