I can learn a lot from a dog

We recently adopted a two year-old miniature schnauzer from a Dallas area rescue group. When he first came to us he was happy overall, but had some lingering effects from bad things he had experienced in the past. He was dropped off at the Humane Society at the beginning of August with a broken leg and his owners couldn't pay for treatment. Thankfully he was picked up and fostered for several weeks by the rescue group. His foster mom said there was evidence that he had never been house-broken, and she thinks he spent much of the first two years of his life in a crate. Not a great life for a playful pup. But his broken leg has healed, he has learned the art of going outside, and he is in a home that loves him. His name was Lil Bit when he came to us--his size demanded it--and we added Harry, so he became Lil Bit Harry. We call him Harry.

I doubt that Harry spent much time in prayer while he was in confined to a kennel, but then again perhaps he did. I've never been inside a dog's mind and I don't know exactly what goes on in there. But his literal and figurative brokenness says something about the way God works in our lives, and in all of creation. No matter how dire the circumstances or how badly we are mistreated, our lives have significance. It depends not upon the circumstances themselves or the people who seem to have power over us, but rather the very fact that we exist. No matter how lonely and rejected we may feel at times, there is always someone out there who will come to our rescue the minute they become aware of our need. There is always hope.

Although I often fail, I make an effort to actively sense God's presence every day through people, through nature, through animals, etc., and I'm always awed by the beauty. Some days it takes longer than others to filter out the human impurities, but God is life and it's profound to realize that something of this power and magnitude continues to course through the world despite our carelessness. In Harry's case, it's good to know carelessness and neglect don't haunt us forever.

We have three other dogs, so Harry has been learning the eat-outside-play-sleep routine from them. He likes to be where they are. But some mornings, while everyone else is asleep, he jumps off the bed and prances out to meet me at the coffee pot just to stretch his little paws on my legs and say good morning. He wags his tail so hard his whole body wiggles. I want to be that excited about life and second chances. God has healed me from one bout with brokenness after another, and it's just plain silly not to be more ready with my gratitude. Keeping it hidden or thinking, "Yes I'm thankful, but..." right before I rattle off a laundry list of reasons why I should still be unhappy is a waste of time and energy.

Gratitude is something that we have the power to emit no matter what the circumstances--no matter what family member has just rejected us, no matter what evangelical pastor has just condemned us from the pulpit, etc. And gratitude can not only help bring about a change in our circumstances, but it can also change us in the process. This is something we already know, but it's nice to be reminded. Thanks Harry.