Buddy

I have this love/hate relationship with our dog Buddy. In the process of moving, we were debating on whether to keep Buddy or find him a new home. I personally was ready to be rid of the responsiblity of nagging my children to play with him. He has really been more trouble then he is worth. He stills jumps up on us at times, digs in my flower beds and needs more attention then we have been giving him. The closer we got to getting rid of him, the sadder I got because deep down I really do like my daily walking Buddy. Who else would go anytime of the day with you on a walk. Who else could frustrate me more but then love to have you brush and pet him. Well we decided Buddy need to stay a part of our family. For this we sarificed new carpet at our rental and probably part of our sanity but our children are happy and I still have a walking partner.

This topic leads back to one of my biggest frustrations-lack of time spent with Buddy by my children. For children who love Buddy and couldn’t imagine living without Buddy, they will often forget he is even alive. This often leads to guilt trips by their mom reminding them that they need to play with Buddy. What kind of love is that. Well in reality it could look a lot like love for our Savior. As Christians, we will often claim to love Jesus and can’t imagine living without him but our actions don’t match our words. At church we may be reminded (mom’s guilt trip) of where we need to be. We do better for a day or so but true change only comes with a heart change. When my love for Christ is so much a part of me that I can’t help spending time with Him and living for Him. When Christ is a part of all of our day not just a few minutes of our day.

Dear Patient and Loving God, Thank you for the opportunity to be your child and have your Son as my forever friend. May my love for you always grow and never grow cold. May you be a part of all my day not just bits and pieces of it. Amen