Good morning…

On our return flight, I could not wait to get home, to walk through our front door, and to be smothered by the whole-bodied affection of our two dogs. Unbridled excitement. Unfettered joy. Undeniable love.

Yesterday afternoon in our Listening Group, one of the women shared her deep emotions about recently putting their 15.5 year old dog to sleep and how God was carrying her through her immense sense of loss. Pulled it up on her phone before leaving my basement, she showed us a comforting video connecting the love of our dog and the love of our God. Simple drawings depict these eternal bonds on a sunny day, “I look up and I see God. I look down and I see my dog.”

Then at 4:15 am, I was jarred awake from sleep by a raging storm. With my husband away, our big dog instinctively jumped from her bed on the floor to the pillow beside me, joining me and our warm, little dog spooned into my core. Thunder and lightening. High winds and torrential rains. A storm swirled wildly outside our bedroom window. The three of us huddled and snuggled and bonded body to body. Our intimate need for one another was palpable, passionate. Stroking their soft fur calmed me as I calmed them. Mutually, magically we silently exchanged love.

The mutual, magical love we share with our mortal dogs is just an ounce of the mutual, magical love we are wired to experience with our immortal God. During sunny days and when storms rage, our intimate need for one another is palpable, passionate. With our warm body spooned into God’s strong body, we are safe. God’s calm fills us as we calmly trust His powerful, protective presence. With our immortal God and our mortal dogs, we weather all weather tucked in life-giving love.

But Jesus was in the stern, asleep…And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?” And He got up and [sternly] rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still (muzzled)!” And the wind died down [as if it had grown weary] and there was [at once] a great calm [a perfect peacefulness]. Jesus said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith and confidence [in Me]?” They were filled with great fear, and said to each other, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mark 4:38-41, AMP).

…Sue…

P.S. Please give yourself the joy of this short, delightful video: GoD And DoG by Wendy J Francisco – YouTube