In January of 2011 we went to pick up a little West Highland Terrier puppy which we named Charlie. Little Charlie quickly became a part of our life (and like a child to us, in some ways). Early in 2014 we began to look for a sibling for Charlie. Rather than a puppy, we began to search with Cairn Rescue to see if we could find the right dog. We found a little bridle Cairn in Milwaukee. He had been found homeless on the streets of Kankakee. Because of food aggression, the shelter thought he needed special attention and called Cairn Rescue USA. Fast forward to Valentines Day (February 14) 2014. We made a long drive to Milwaukee to pick up "Gizmo," we arrived home around midnight after a very long day. Two dogs together for the first time was a little overwhelming, but we thought we'd be able settle them in. No way. Eventually I had to take the new dog, which we named "Jack" to the guest room and Carrie stayed with Charlie in the master bedroom. It was a sleepless night. Over the next few days we couldn't leave them together. They fought often and fierce. I was beginning to doubt and wondered if we had made a terrible mistake and whether there was any hope the situation would improve.
It turns out that these dogs, over just a couple of weeks, would come to be best friends. They are seldom in a different room from one another and they love to play. It turns out that two very different personalities -enemies nearly, when forced together, actually became friends.
There are too many people with which I have failed to become friends and many more with which I have been rude or grouchy. I wonder what I've missed out on with those people. I wonder how many fruitful and life-giving relationships I have lost because I failed to see possibility.
My relationship with God was almost a non-starter. I was hostile toward God and wanted nothing to do with faith. Yet, I ended up at a campus ministry and, so, like these dogs: stuck in the same house with one I didn't want to be near. Like Jack and Charlie, though, I came to appreciate God and grew in relationship.
Have you noticed that God is in your midst calling you into relationship? Have you opened yourself to the possibility to growing deeper-in-love with God? You may find that it changes your life for the better.
blessings,
