I Am Out Of Control!

When I asked Christ to be my Savior 40 years ago, God gave me this verse as my Life Verse.  It has served me well over the years and continues to do so.  God used it again this month to remind me that He is in control of my life, even when I feel so out of control.

Unfortunately, we had a traumatic experience at our house several weeks ago involving my daughter’s beautiful Labrador Retriever, that left us devastated.  Mater was a very vivacious, loyal and loving dog.  He was my 7 year old Grandson’s best friend.   He was a light in our household.  Long story short…..Mater is gone.

In an instant, our lives had changed.  We didn’t want it to happen, we didn’t like that it happened, we didn’t understand why it happened.  But, it happened. 

Our house became much quieter.  Our grass became much healthier.  We all grieved.  After a few weeks, I became used to the new “norm”.  After all, a quiet house and nice grass isn’t so bad.  And, after one has time to grieve, one starts to heal.

But, my daughter and grandson weren’t healing as well as I was.  Tears flowed randomly; hearts ached and rough housing/cuddle time was missed.  Mater was still a big part of the conversation in our household but I began to notice that the conversation was changing.  It became, “I want a puppy.”  “What would you think if we got a puppy?”  “Look at this puppy I found on the internet.”

At first, my husband and I resisted…..after all, we were getting used to the quiet.  We were getting used to not having a 90 pound dog lying on our couch when we wanted to sit down.  We were getting used to life without Mater.

And so, my response to “What would you think if we got a puppy?” was “No!”  “No more dogs…..it’s too hard to lose them.”  We raised three Leader Dog puppies for the Blind and gave them back to the Leader Dog School when they turned 1; we lost one dog to a heart attack and had to put another dog and cat down because of old age.  “No, it’s too hard to lose them!”

I was emphatic; I couldn’t go through it again!  But, God soon convicted me that this situation was not about me and that I was to give my daughter a different response.  So, a few days after saying, “No!”, I told my daughter I would pray about her request.

I’m sure you can guess what God told me as I began to pray about this puppy situation.  Yep, He told me that there would be a new puppy coming into our lives and that I was to “Trust Him with all my heart and to not rely on my own understanding; in all my ways I was to acknowledge Him and He would direct my path.”

Of course, Rick was involved in this decision but, after God did a work in me, Rick was easy since the kids (and the grandkids) have him wrapped around their little fingers and can pretty much have their way with him.  LOL!  We didn’t know how this was going to come out, but Rick and I together agreed that our daughter should begin the search for a new puppy.

The search began and ended with Sarah, a friend of mine in AZ who breeds dogs.  My son and daughter-in-law purchased their precious toy Aussie from her.  And so, when my son and daughter-in-law arrived in Fort Wayne from Arizona for a visit, they had a sweet 4 lb. Shaussie (half Shih Tzu and half Toy Aussie) with them.  Her name is Jasmine and she is a light in our household.    So sweet and cuddly, she is the perfect dog for our family.  She will never replace Mater in our hearts, but she has found her own place there and we love her!

Jasmine; Jazzy; Jazzercize; Arizona Button; Chewbacca

When things are happening in your life that you don’t understand…..trust the Lord with all your heart.  Trust that He has your life under control, even when you don’t.  When things are happening in your life that you don’t understand…..do not rely on your own understanding.  Don’t try to understand what is happening from your own perspective, trust God’s perspective even when you don’t  understand it.  When things are happening in your life that you don’t understand…..in all your ways acknowledge Him and allow Him to direct your path.  Always, always, always acknowledge God in your life by giving Him Thanks and Praise for everything and then you can rest in the assurance that He will direct your path in the direction that is best for you.  Your outcome may not be a new puppy; but you can know for certain that your outcome is in the hands of our Savior and He will be in the midst of your circumstances.

Encouraging you Today

to Trust the Lord with all your heart!