4 Ways my Dogs Teach me about God!

“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;

And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;” Job 12:7

The other day it occurred to me that God, who wants to be a part of every aspect of our lives, gave our dogs Scooby and Thor to us for all sorts of reasons. One of which was to teach us about His character. Sound silly? Read on.

1) God is our number one fan! No matter if I’ve been gone 20 minutes or 3 days, when I walk in the door, Scooby and Thor rush to meet me, greet me and clamber to sit with me. No matter how long we don’t focus on God, He always RUSHES to meet us, greet us and sit with us. I see His unconditional love in my puggle and my chug.

2) God is a patient forgiver. My boy, Noah, often torments our dogs. Now before you jump and think he is destined to be a serial killer (the thought has crossed my mind :0) ) know that Scooby and Thor adore him. He might do something awful and I will yell at him and tell him that the dogs will eventually bite his face off. He then calls one of them and they run to him. Stupid dogs? Maybe. But I see the grace of God in them. No matter how we treat ourselves, each other, or God Himself, He comes when we call. Always. That is GRACE.

3) God senses our hurt and wants to comfort. After I had gall bladder surgery, Scooby sat with me every day on the couch, cuddling with gentleness. A few weeks ago, after I came home from being in the ICU for three days with an intestinal infection, both of my dogs were gentle and loving. Even Thor, who has ADD. :0) John says when we are sick we probably smell like bacon to them. :0) Whatever the reason, their little doggie behavior shows me the heart of God. When we hurt, the Creator of our hearts, the one who knows our pain like no other, wants to curl up with us on the couch and just be.

4) God wants to run free in our lives. Scooby and Thor are happiest when they are off the leash. The other day a bunny came out of a bush in front of Scooby and he lost his little doggie mind, jerking on the leash so hard it broke. I stood there with the handle in my hand and Scooby ran free, the leash trailing him. I caught up with him about 5 minutes later. He looked at me as if to say, “Mom, wasn’t that fun?” Often you and I try to keep God on a leash, putting Him into a box we create out of our comforts or insecurities. Letting God off the leash in your life is the key to freedom and adventure! When Scooby or Thor has the chance to chase the local wildlife, I’m reminded of the freedom God dearly wants for me.

Last week, Thor took my Jesus Calling devotional and chewed the corners off. This has absolutely nothing to do with God’s character. Just ticked me off. :0)

But if I ask our Lord to show me Himself, He does it, even in the most unlikely places.

Like a puggle and a chug.