What are we Thankful for???
“Mom, I think it’s time for me to get a dog!” These were the words of our oldest just this past week. I have heard this before! Several years ago Brewer, who is now 24, said this at 17 and yes, he got a dog! I don’t know what we were thinking??? He was a senior in high school and I should have known the new puppy, “Daisy,” was going to be our dog and not Brewer’s!! NO regrets……..Daisy is 7years old and has all of our hearts.
Two nights ago as I drove with Brewer to pick up “HIS” new puppy, I wasn’t at all worried that this would become “MY Dog” since he is now on his own!! We were engaged in thinking of names and the anticipation of a “new adventure!” I was thrilled to be in on the journey and have our 24 year old in the car all to myself for 3 hours. The whole ride was so much fun. Catching up and having one-on-one time, especially with the excitement we had over the new addition, we talked non-stop! In our family we are all animal lovers, especially dogs, and yellow labs in particular. So you could say we both were like children on Christmas Eve. Seriously, to say that we were on “Cloud 9” would be an understatement!!
By the time we drove up to the house we were almost running to the front door. We had some practice because the first house we went to was the wrong one! When we finally got to the right house, it was dark! As we approached, we could hear the barking dogs. The porch light was on and we entered the stranger’s house. Two bulldogs met us and as we looked past them, there sat Brewer’s new puppy with the cutest 16 month old little boy—blonde hair and blue eyes!! The puppy was precious, but what caught our attention was the “baby boy”. He immediately reached out his arms for me to pick him up!!! He was smiling and adorable. I went to pick him up and the “grandmother”, which was the lady who answered the door, picked him up instead. Before we saw his feet, we were just taken by his smile and friendliness!!
As she put him in the high chair and we played on the floor with the puppy, we looked up to see that something was VERY WRONG ABOUT THE BABY BOY’S FEET!! They were turned very “oddly”. It was apparent that something was very wrong!!! Seeing that we were staring at his feet, the grandmother proceeded to tell us her grandson had “spina bifida” and couldn’t walk. She explained that she kept him while her daughter worked. “NO day care” would take him. She started to feed him yogurt and just pour out her heart about her grandson and daughter. As he finished the yogurt, she put him back on the floor. Needless to say, our hearts went from being on “cloud 9” to being very heavy!!
We sat for a while playing with the dog and watching how the dogs were very protective of the “precious baby boy”. It was late and we needed to get back, so we finalized the paperwork and left. We had very mixed emotions and, while we were stilled elated to have the “new addition,” “Sadie,” our hearts had a totally different focus than we had had over the last 4 hours.
The real story and reason for this journal is being “Thankful” and God DIRECTLY ANSWERING prayers I have had for myself and our family. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and it has been my desire to not be a person or family who only exhibits seasonal “THANKSGIVING OR CHRISTMAS” spirit, but to have a “YEAR ROUND, 365 DAYS” KIND OF SPIRIT. I wrote in a journal just a couple of days ago or so about stepping up my prayers in these areas for myself and our family. Just getting “outside” of ourselves, praying for a heart of gratitude that only leads down a “one-way” street headed in the direction of being “unselfish!”
Funny, God smiles. I know HE does…..when HE directly answers my/our prayers in UNEXPECTED WAYS!!!!! Never in a million years would I have counted on or foreseen how God would use “going to get a puppy” to open our hearts to a “stranger and her suffering grandbaby”. The “VISUAL PICTURE” engrained in my mind and in Brewer’s, and the hour we spent in that house, was God’s design to turn our hearts MORE toward the needs of others, strangers! And give us EXTREME GRATITUDE over things we take for granted like walking!!! It was hard to walk out that door and not do more right then. But as I have learned to seek God and His counsel on what to do, prayer for sure, but also go the extra mile and put some “LEGS ON OUR PRAYERS”. I do not believe in coincidences!! NOT at all. I believe God is involved in all things and to a greater extent, when you are seeking Him in certain areas of your life, He doesn’t disappoint.
On the “Back 9” I have learned from experience to know He will 100% show up and we just need to have the eyes to see it. Praying for God to show me, Brewer and the rest of our family how to reach out and help the need that we saw!! Please don’t think too highly of me or our family. I just want to express that God does SHOW UP. HE ANSWERS PRAYERS. HE WANTS US TO LIVE A LIFE SURRENDERED TO HIM. With the holidays approaching……ASK GOD, EVEN IF YOU DON’T REALLY KNOW HIM, TO SHOW YOU HOW TO BE MORE THANKFUL, TO SEE PEOPLE IN NEED and how to help!!!
Don’t be surprised at all when HE ANSWERS…..be looking for it!! He desires for everyone to have a heart of gratitude and heart for others. HE will ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS answer the prayers with a YES!!! The best way I can describe what God did in answering my prayer in this area is this, “The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they SEIZE US!” God seized this moment to SHOW UP AND ANSWER!!! Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” God never holds back!!!!! NOT in regards to a desire to show HIS LOVE to others and taking a heart of stone and turning it to a “heart of flesh!”