Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Life's Education

I can remember when I graduated from high school thinking that finally my education was done and over with. Ha!!! Little did I know that I was just embarking on a life full of learning! But life's education is and has been very healthy for me. I have learned so much just from life. That said...

Ruby has been home a week now and we are so thankful.

She has put quite a bit of weight back on but she is not herself yet. She does have a couple of spots on her front feet that we are concerned about because she is limping but other than that she looks great. We will take her to the vet if those spots don't heal soon. We are anxious for her to get back to her old silly self again, but we wait patiently for that.

Last Tuesday night, we gathered as a family and went around to each one of us to find out what we learned from Ruby running away.

Tyler: He learned patience
Phyllip: He learned how to wait on God
Lyndsey: She learned not to take Ruby for granted - that we will always have her
Rhonda: I learned patience; my faith was strengthened at the EXACT moment I needed it! This taught me how BIG my God is!
Walter: He learned compassion. He said he didn't realize just how much of a friend Ruby had become to all of us until she ran away.

There are several miracles we see in this whole situation.

-The temperature outside had climbed to 110 and above for several days before Ruby came home. When she finally showed up on our doorstep, she was severely dehydrated, skin and bones, exhausted and very smelly/dirty. She would not have lasted much longer out in the heat.

-We put countless hours into finding her. We passed out hundreds of flyers, walked many miles, drove many miles, called for many hours for her, put ads on craigslist for her, looked several times a day at the animal shelters for her. None of it brought her back home. We finally decided that God would have to bring her home. Oh, how we prayed daily for her that she would be safe and that God would direct her back here. We just trusted...and prayed. It got harder and harder each day to believe she could still be alive knowing the area of the US we live in. I had prayed and begged God on Monday to strengthen my faith because I was feeling weak. I told Him I needed to see Him do something just for me. And do something He DID!!!

-From this situation I was able to get a glimpse of God's love for each and every person in this world. Just like we were looking for our lost dog and calling her, Jesus is calling each and every one of us and He wants to show us just how much He loves us and wants to care for us. He wants each one of us to live with Him in heaven for all eternity.

This small situation in our lives has given me a greater compassion for people and their eternal destination. I want to show the love of Jesus to each and every person I can. Lord Jesus, please help me to show others your love!

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