This morning as I descended the stairs I caught a glimpse of one of the dogs outside, in the (likely) single digits temperatures. The dog I saw was not the big springer spaniel that loves to romp and play in any type of weather, it was the little cocker that hates the snow and cold weather, avoiding it as much as he possibly can. Knowing that all of Erin's family (at least the ones that were awake) had left for the morning, I was very surprised to find him needing to be let in.
As I let him in I noticed that he was covered in ice from his belly to the pads on his paws. As you can imagine he was not comfortable. I scooped him up and took him to the nearest tub for a warm rinse to release the ice from pulling on his fur and feet. After I dried him off he promptly found a warm girl to snuggle with and a comfy chair to snooze in.
My first assumption was that as everyone was on their way out this morning, it had been forgotten, by all ,that he needed to be let in. I learned later, that was not the case. He ran away this morning. He made the choice to head out into the snow and cold on a little adventure. And since every awake caretaker had somewhere to be on time, they could not follow after him to force him to come home. Hopefully he has learned a lesson.
I think we all can glean a little nugget of truth from his self-decided "adventure". He gets plenty of opportunity to go on adventures. Safe ones, fun ones, ones that do not cause him pain (or alt least just a small amount of pain with a purpose) Some even offer a benefit to others, and some to his health. He is invited to go to Erin's in-laws for fun with other dogs and the in-law's total enjoyment and pampering of him. He is invited to go on an adventure to the vet from time to time to keep him healthy, yes some discomfort is involved in this, but only enough that will help him live a long healthy life, and treats are always part of the deal.
Isn't it always a better adventure if we are invited to go on it, by God. Sometimes I think we are scared we are missing out on some kind of fun, so we leave our warm, comfy, loving place to see what else it out there. Usually we come back, hurting, wishing we had never gone there and done that, needing to be cleaned up and comforted. He is always there with warmth, forgiveness, and comfort. If we had just waited to be invited on an adventure we could have had a great time. He will invite us, when we are ready. But His adventures will have a purpose, to help others or maybe to teach us something. His adventures may even hurt , but always for our ultimate good.
It is good to know that even when you go on an adventure that you were not prepared for, or that you were not invited to go on, you can always go home. He will always be waiting and hoping for you to come home. He wants to comfort us and ready us for His plans.
As I let him in I noticed that he was covered in ice from his belly to the pads on his paws. As you can imagine he was not comfortable. I scooped him up and took him to the nearest tub for a warm rinse to release the ice from pulling on his fur and feet. After I dried him off he promptly found a warm girl to snuggle with and a comfy chair to snooze in.
My first assumption was that as everyone was on their way out this morning, it had been forgotten, by all ,that he needed to be let in. I learned later, that was not the case. He ran away this morning. He made the choice to head out into the snow and cold on a little adventure. And since every awake caretaker had somewhere to be on time, they could not follow after him to force him to come home. Hopefully he has learned a lesson.
I think we all can glean a little nugget of truth from his self-decided "adventure". He gets plenty of opportunity to go on adventures. Safe ones, fun ones, ones that do not cause him pain (or alt least just a small amount of pain with a purpose) Some even offer a benefit to others, and some to his health. He is invited to go to Erin's in-laws for fun with other dogs and the in-law's total enjoyment and pampering of him. He is invited to go on an adventure to the vet from time to time to keep him healthy, yes some discomfort is involved in this, but only enough that will help him live a long healthy life, and treats are always part of the deal.
Isn't it always a better adventure if we are invited to go on it, by God. Sometimes I think we are scared we are missing out on some kind of fun, so we leave our warm, comfy, loving place to see what else it out there. Usually we come back, hurting, wishing we had never gone there and done that, needing to be cleaned up and comforted. He is always there with warmth, forgiveness, and comfort. If we had just waited to be invited on an adventure we could have had a great time. He will invite us, when we are ready. But His adventures will have a purpose, to help others or maybe to teach us something. His adventures may even hurt , but always for our ultimate good.
It is good to know that even when you go on an adventure that you were not prepared for, or that you were not invited to go on, you can always go home. He will always be waiting and hoping for you to come home. He wants to comfort us and ready us for His plans.
