Lucy's Tummy
As I approached another birthday, I used the excuse to talk my hubby into getting me a puppy! Sadly, I had to put my last dog down a few years ago and hadn’t been able to bring myself to get another pet as it was painful to say goodbye. I always loved pets and found them a great source of comfort, companionship and laughter – especially puppies! What I didn’t remember was how much work puppies were since I had my previous dog for so many years.
Initially my husband said no, but I used all available female influence and also reminded him that a puppy would be a welcome distraction from my day to day struggle of back pain. To seal the deal, I batted my eyes and reminded him of my approaching 50th birthday and he finally conceded! Nothing like good ol’ fashioned female persuasion mixed with guilt and sympathy! The search began for the perfect dog began and after much research we decided upon a malti-poo.
Wanting a female this time because my former dog was male and he seemed to have the need to “mark” everything. No clue what that was all about! If you pay attention in the work environment, you will see this same behavior with males – but that is another blog for another time.
We picked up our puppy who was 10 weeks old and named her “Lucy” as I have always loved that name. It seemed to match her fun, cute personality. She weighed about 4 pounds and was perfect as we lived in a small townhouse. Lucy quickly grew and became accustomed to our home and receiving so much unmerited attention and love!
One day when as she stood on my lap while we were on the couch, I started to rub her tummy. You’re probably wondering why I had to rub her tummy while she stood – well Lucy didn’t seem to be able to relax and lay on her back. She didn’t quite trust me. Dogs laying on their backs is not a natural position and takes quite a bit of trust of their situation. Speaking gently to her as if she could understand, “Lucy – I know you love when I rub your tummy – why don’t you lay back and just relax? This will feel so good if you would just lay down and I promise you will enjoy it.” She tried to lay back as she loved my rubbing her belly but would pop back up to a standing position almost immediately.
Then it hit me, and I realized it is the same thing when God tries to lavish His love on me. Do I relax and just rest in His love and blessings, or do I force my way back up and get too busy to enjoy just being loved? Do I accept his love without question, or do I fight against it since unmerited love doesn’t come easy to accept? Do I try to “be good or do good” to earn his love when He just wants me to rest and enjoy His presence?
One of my favorite Psalms is 46:5 “God is with her. She WILL not fall.” Surely, we will fall in this world because it is a challenging place filled with difficulties and sorrow until we have the opportunity to spend eternity in a perfect place – heaven. What God is saying in this scripture is that ultimately, He has won the battle and because we are secure in Him, we will also win the battle. Winning the battle doesn’t mean life will be without issues. People make the mistake of thinking that life is supposed to be easy because God created the world, but they forget about the fall in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve willingly made the choice to sin (they couldn’t just rest and enjoy the perfection of how it should have been – just enjoy His blessings like I was trying to get Lucy to do). Once sin entered the world, it brought in sorrow, anguish, imperfection and disease.
What God promises us in this world is not a picture perfect time on earth - what He promises us is found in several places in the Bible one of which is in Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Both of these Bible verses share how God is with us – we will not fall. God promises to always love us, to never leave us and to walk with us in the good times and bad. To believe otherwise is contradictory to the definition of faith which is believing in something you can’t see or touch. We trust the diagnosis from a doctor we barely know and the prescription he writes when we can’t even read it. What about if the pharmacy fills the wrong prescription? Why can we trust the doctor easier than we trust our creator of the universe?
Is this why Lucy has trouble knowing that I only want to provide her comfort when I rub on her tummy – trouble relaxing and enjoying the feeling that I know she will like? If she would only lay back, she would experience a lavish of love – what if we could do the same?
Diana