WAITING

I've never been very good at waiting for anything.  Call me impatient, call me immature, but that's the truth.  As I've gotten older, however, I've found that it does get easier to wait for things.  As a Christian, we are told to wait upon the Lord, and that is sometimes difficult as well.  When we are praying for something we deem as good, we often don't see why He doesn't act as quickly as we think He should.  That goes to "helping God out," meaning that we don't think He can "make it" without our help.  That is the wrong attitude for Christians to have.  God is in control, and we need to get with the program and trust Him.  He loves us, and by the way, He knows what He is doing!

In regard to waiting, one of the many things I love about dogs is how happy they are to see us--ALWAYS!  We can be away for five minutes or five days, but we get a welcome fit for royalty.

Our doxie Duke was very happy to see us after our eleven-day trip out west recently.  In fact, now he doesn't even like it when we go out to eat, to church, or whatever.  Perhaps he's suffering from separation anxiety, thinking we won't ever come back.  In his mind, he waited and waited, but we didn't come back when he thought we were supposed to.  I've read that dogs truly think we won't come back every time we leave.  I wouldn't go that far, but perhaps some pups have had that happen, perish the thought.


Often, we Christians are the same way about waiting upon the Lord.  We just assume that if something we want to happen doesn't happen in X number of minutes, hours, or days, then God didn't hear us and/or doesn't care.  How wrong we are to have that attitude!  God is never late, God is always on time, and He only does what is best for His children.  I can attest to that as I look back to certain circumstances that I thought should turn out MY way, when in fact, they didn't at all.  God was protecting me, much like the stressed driver who is in a hurry, only to be met by a roadblock of some kind.  Fuming, when traffic finally gets moving, he finds out about the terrible accident up ahead that happened only minutes before.  Perhaps God was protecting the driver from certain death.  "Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous."

In any case, I am glad to have my welcoming doxie to greet us when we get home.  Nobody "can do it" like a dog for making us feel special!  God will welcome us home to heaven someday like the prodigal son was welcomed or the joy our dogs have when we return home.  I think God made dogs for many reasons, but I see so many when dogs, truly man's best friend, represent God's unconditional love. We just have to recognize it.

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em.