Remembering God’s Blessings

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”*

     After writing about the way dogs communicate, our two dogs, Teddy and TJ, did something that was surprising. I was standing at the kitchen sink when there was a big uproar outside. Snarling, snapping, growling...not the sounds they usually make when barking at people passing by.

      One quick glance out the window showed both of them engaged in a tussle. My first reaction was to rap on the window to get their attention. Then, I hurried down the steps and through the kitchen door, just in time to see the bigger dog, Teddy, flip his brother over onto his back.

      With TJ pinned to the ground and Teddy standing over him, things calmed down. Maybe seeing me and knowing they were in trouble also helped! Anyhow, the fight ended a few minutes after it started, with Teddy reaffirming his position as the dominant one. After I chastised them both, he backed away from the little lab.

      Expecting the worst, I began checking them over for bites or wounds. There was a spot on TJ’s paw that was exposed and a tuft of black hair in his dog dish, making me think that the fight started over food, the cause of most of their scuffles in the past.

      Teddy had blood on his head, chest, feet but wasn’t bitten anywhere—maybe it came fromTJ’s paw during the wrestling match. The old saying “His bark was worse than his bite” had some truth to it. Anyhow, I was thankful that they were both okay.

      A little while later, my hand began throbbing. There were several blue spots, bruises from rapping the window so hard! A bag of ice on the bruises seemed to help. Good thing I didn’t break the window!

      It had been a good day up to that point: waking up to a beautiful, clear Sunday morning; attending church with Al where we heard an inspiring message, participated in Communion, met some new people and reconnected with many friends. We were enjoying a peaceful afternoon at home when it was disrupted so suddenly.

      Even though the dogs calmed down, their fight left me feeling sad and discouraged...a feeling that lingered the rest of the day. Later that night when they were peacefully sleeping in their room, I accidentally tipped over a water bottle on my desk. Unfortunately, water seeped under my laptop computer, enough to cause damage in a brief period of time.

      One of our household rules had been broken. If only I had remembered to keep the water bottle away from the laptop. No amount of pressing the power button would get it to start. I was worn out at that point and anxious. The software agreement that we had purchased with the manufacturer didn’t cover a problem like water in the computer! Would it have to be replaced?

      With Al’s help, it was unplugged, the battery removed and left to dry in a pan of rice! As he headed to bed, I went into his office and sat down at his desk. At least the main computer was still in operation. That was a good thing since we both used it a great deal every day.

      As I was sitting there, I remembered the “Voice of Hope” line that our church offered—a taped message of encouragement 24 hours a day.** The comforting voice on the other end of the Hope line pointed out that problems, whether big or small, life-threatening or temporary, tend to keep us from remembering all of the ways our good God has blessed us. He went on to talk about the apostle Paul who was able to rejoice in God even when in prison suffering for his faith in Christ.

      “You might not feel happy,” he said, “But, you can still feel blessed.” What a helpful and timely observation! In thinking about the many blessings of that day and in thanking God for being in control of my life, peace of mind was restored. May we always be grateful. His love never fails!

      More on the saga of the computer casserole in future articles...maybe.

*Philippians 4:4-7 NIV

**Voice of Hope 248-646-6407, press 2