--"Without Faith It is Impossible to Please God" ~~

--"O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all...animals both small and great."
---[Psalm 104:24-25] --

--Over the past forty-five years of marriage, Beth and I have enjoyed and nurtured four generations of golden retrievers. Ten years ago when we moved from Waco, Texas to Macon, Georgia, we had four golden retrievers "bedded down" in the back of our Suburban...Beau, Muffy, and their two puppies. Bear and Buddy. It was hard to find a motel that would accept all of us!

Time passes quickly and last month, our last Texas golden retriever, Buddy, died of pleasant old age. Beth and I are still grieving. We knew we would again require another pet. We had the faith to trust the Lord to supply our wants. Last week, we adopted another beautiful golden retriever puppy. Her name is Lexi and she is a free-spirited young lady. She is chewing up anything she can fit in her little mouth. However, she is bringing great joy to us, and we are again experiencing the spiritual gift of nurture.

As I left home this morning, I knelt down and gave Lexi a big hug. While driving to work, I began to sing an arrangement of verses based on Psalm 104: "All things bright and beautiful, al creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all."
In that moment I realized that joy and perspective were retuning to me. The grief of the loss of Buddy was lifting. And a profound experience of the goodness of God was glimpsed through the rearview mirror of sweet memories. ~~
--Guideposts/SW~