Pets, Puppies, and Good Intentions

I am not a pet person. I go down in family lore as the person most averse to puppy licks. I wash my hands furiously if I ever have to pet an animal.

Despite my recent experiences and procedures with fish, I have never mistreated any of our dogs. Our last dog, Tammy Faye Barker, was always allowed in the house during a storm. In her older age after the girls were all gone, Tammy Faye often shared cold winter days with me in the house where she would find a bright patch of sunlight to enjoy.

That being said, there was one time where a puppy pulled at my heart strings and made me claim him.

One day after we first retired in south Texas, we passed the graveyard at the crossroad. There was a puppy wandering alone. I told Ronald if he was still there when we returned from town, we were going to claim him as ours.

He was a frail little thing, and I named him Tobias which means ‘God is good’. We fed him several times that day but just small bites. He probably hadn’t eaten in a long while. By morning, we had decided to take him to the vet and get his shots and whatever he needed.

Tobias went to heaven that day. He was eaten up with sickness. Not even the strongest medicine could save him.

For several days, I was sad and wondered why I had taken such a shine to the pathetic puppy. I decided the important thing was that for one day, Tobias knew love.

Since then, I have pondered many times on the occasions I had stepped out to obey God’s leading then have the situation change so the need was no longer there. I think sometimes God is seeing how willing we are to listen then trust His promptings.

This morning, one of our worship leaders reminded us of one of my favorite stories in the Bible. In 2 Chronicles, Israel was going to be attacked by a vast army. Jehoshaphat prepared for the battle by calling a fast. In the end, he sent musicians to lead the fight. Unusual warfare for sure! He was willing to go to war, but God provided so they didn’t have to fight.

Sometimes, following God’s leading is a real trialsome experience! Just read through the prophets. Bless their hearts. More often than not, their preaching was fruitless. Many in the Old and New Testaments were harassed, tortured, or killed for their faith and obedience. Though they had times of depression or failure, the saints of old knew God was faithful and would be the ‘finisher of our faith’.

We don’t have to understand God to continue to listen for His Spirit’s promptings. Obeying and serving is our job. The results are in God’s purview.

Moral of the story. Keep on loving.

Blessings

KB

Sorry for the long sermon, but it is Sunday after all!