If you read my prior post about the puppy, you know that I did not want to have a dog. It was a decision thrust upon me and I had to figure out what to do about it. Do I continue to fight against it? Do I stay mad for the rest of my life? Do I pretend it doesn’t exist? None of those things helped me in any way. So, I did the only thing that I could do, and that was to change my mind.
Things like this happen in life. We find ourselves in situations that we don’t want to be in, and we must decide how we are going to deal with them. Each situation is unique, so there is no ‘one-right-answer’. We must judge each situation, weigh our options, and decide which option is the best solution. And after we have made our decision, we must start working toward that goal. The solution may not come easily. We may need to be patient and conscientiously pursue the desired outcome. This process is simple but may take time. We may succeed or fall flat on our face. But if we fall, we must not quit! We must get up and try again until we achieve the success we want.
Case in point, the puppy…
As you can see, the puppy is very cute. That has been her saving grace on multiple occasions! She is 10 months old now. She is a work in progress like any other youth. Her training is ongoing and her obedience is hitting more than it’s missing. She is smart and affectionate, but she also has a stubborn streak. All of that (except the stubborn streak) has helped me accept this situation. I might even go so far as to say I enjoy the puppy most of the time!
I imagine that a lot people might think that I’m a terrible person for not wanting a dog. But as explained in my previous post, I just did not want to have that responsibility at this time. I like dogs, but I would have rather not taken on the work involved in having one at this stage of my life. Being retired, I had a million ideas of things that I wanted to do, and having a dog was not one of them. But since I had to accept this situation, I have relied on prayer to get me through it.
This is what I’ve learned and am learning…
- God is able and willing to answer our prayers.
- God cares about everything in our lives, even the small stuff.
- God knows more than I do.
- God knows better than I do.
- God never leaves us nor forsakes us.
Those all are things I remind myself when I’m praying about the puppy situation. I prayed for God to soften my heart toward her. I prayed for His help to not resent the situation being forced on me (although I might still need to revisit that one from time to time). I continue to pray for God’s guidance to train the puppy so she will be a positive asset to our family. And I pray for His help with my lack of patience.
The whole puppy experience has shown me (again) the importance of prayer and the power! When I cast my puppy cares on God, things run smoothly. When I don’t cast those cares, I lose my patience, and resentment rears its ugly head.
Many situations we find ourselves in are not of our own making. But that does not mean that we cannot be successful in those situations. God’s Word says that we are super-conquerors in every situation, which includes those that we make for ourselves and those that are thrust upon us. (Romans 8:37) This verse begins, “Nay, in all these things…” And if we read verses 35 and 36, we will see that not only are we more than conquerors in tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword and being led to the slaughter; but also that those things cannot separate us from the love of Christ, which is why we can be super conquerors. So, if we can conquer these big things, it certainly stands to reason that we can conquer the little things – like a puppy!
Now, I know that a puppy may not be a challenge to anyone else but me. But we all face challenging situations at times. They might be hard for us, but easy for someone else. Or we might see may see someone struggling in a situation that looks easy to us. However, we dare not judge one another because someone could be fighting as hard as they can to overcome a situation that is very difficult for them, no matter what it looks like to us.
Why not look at the challenges we face as ‘victories in the making’? Think of situations as ‘challenges to succeed’ or ‘opportunities to overcome’. Ask for and expect God’s help and guidance. Claim the promises that He has made unto us. When we do these things, we elicit God’s solutions, which are exceedingly abundantly better than all of ours!
Situations, challenges, failures and victories are all part of life. It is in how we handle each of them that makes the difference. We can meet our challenges head on because God always has our back. We can be victorious because God bears His mighty arm for us. Let’s seek God’s help, pursue His solutions and see where He takes us in every situation. Thanks be to God for His limitless love and goodness!
Note to my readers: Thank you for taking this journey with me! And thanks for reading!