We took our dogs to the dog park today. Both of them did well, but our new puppy had a little difficulty because everything was so new, and he was frightened. I could totally understand how he felt. New places and experiences make me feel anxious, too.
I started to contemplate all the dogs my husband and I have been in our pack during our marriage, and I realized that all of them were very timid and sweet. None of them have been aggressive and most of them have been rescues. I realized that the dogs we found were all dogs that we could help somehow. We could bring out the best in them by being their pack leaders and giving them love and understanding, and yet at the same time, each of those dogs had something that would change us as well. They would make us better people by teaching us about love. It occurred to me today that even though pack leadership is sometimes difficult and heartbreaking, it’s very possible that God brought those specific dogs into my life because it was part of His plan for me and for them and for my husband, too.
The more I think about it the more I realize that it isn’t just dogs, every person that God brings into our lives is there for a reason. It doesn’t matter if they are there for just a second or for years. Each person I have ever met is a miracle because God put them there at the right time in the right place so that I would be able to be right where I am. We are all on this journey together in simply amazing ways. The ability to have a plan for billions and billions of lives and then intertwine them somehow is astonishing. It’s difficult to do that for just a few characters in a book and God does it for everyone on earth. That level of detail, attention, and grace is unimaginable to me. And I am so thankful that He cares enough to do it. Thank God for having a plan for my life and for all that He has brought into my life.
If there is anything that keeps surprising me about God, it is how just when I think I understand how thankful I should be, I realize there’s more to it. As I find myself grow in love for my husband each and every day of my life, I find myself grow in love and gratitude for my God. I realize I will never truly understand all that He has given me, but I am so very thankful that He loves me enough to give me the life that He has anyway.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
