A beautiful Daisy

Nearly 20 years ago my FH (former husband), his parents and I set off on a road trip from South Dakota to Iowa. My FH had done extensive research on dog breeds and had discovered the vizsla, a beautiful line of hunting dogs. While we were visiting his parents he located one in Iowa so we all set out on an adventure to find our fur-baby.

I begged the group to stop in Burr Oak, IA, at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum. It was a detour for sure but (to me) worth every lost minute. I went through that historic house with a sacredness that should be saved for a trip to meet the Pope. I was taken by the rich history and the flashbacks to one of my favorite childhood shows.

We got back on the road and eventually arrived at a family farm bustling with generations of dogs, some old, some young and some in between. As we spent time with the puppies one caught our eyes and captured our hearts. We spent some time studying and playing with him before scooping him up and loading him in the car.

A few months later we decided he needed a friend so we located a breeder closer to home in Colorado. We traveled to Aspen to pick up our little fur princess and brought her home. Gunner and Macey became the best of friends and were inseparable.

One time when we took them back to my former in-laws’ in South Dakota, they jumped in the lake behind their house and started swimming. My FH and I weren’t at the house at the time so some family members tried to call them back in. Gunner and Macey would have nothing to do with it, they just kept on going. You gotta love small towns…the local radio station shared their story and a hunter ended up spotting them on the other side of the lake and threw them in his truck. These two rebels returned home exhausted from their adventure but completely satisfied in the decision they had made together to explore these unchartered waters.

They went on to have two litters together and one of the pups (Lucy) went to my former in-laws. A few years later, right in the middle of my divorce, they bred her and my FH brought one of her pups back to me. She was exactly what my heart needed in that moment. I was having such a hard time adjusting to life without the boys and she entered the scene and filled my heart with immense joy.

I believe in God’s impeccable timing. I believe He cares about our needs, big and small, and He sees and hears us. He sent me this little bundle of energy whose only assignment was to love like crazy and boy has she done that well.

I’ve been chewing on this passage of the Bible this week:

Matthew 6:25-34 (ESV): “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

God sent me Daisy five years ago and every day of her life she has woken up with an overflowing amount of love for me and the boys, she has touched our hearts in ways we never imagined. She was right beside me during my years of counseling, in fact on many occasions she would make the 45 minute drive with me to my sessions and wait in the car as I would often come out in tears. I would find her curled up in the front seat, saving my spot and warming it for me. I loved the way she would look at me and then shower me with kisses as if to say, “It’s going to be okay. We’ve got this.”

I have never known a love like the love I have felt from God and I believe He finds tangible ways to show us how He cares about us. Over and over I have felt his presence on my darkest days. I think about all of the friends, family and even strangers He put in my life over the years to reassure me of His amazing love and concern for me…little me and my personal struggles.

God sees you, God knows your hurts. You can trust Him to meet your basic needs but also with your heart. He loves you and deeply cares about you. Psalm 10:17 (NIV) says, “You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry.” This week let’s focus on gratitude and thankfulness for the ways God has blessed us and taken care of us, even and especially in the midst of difficult situations. What are the daisies he has planted in your garden? Let’s take time to reflect on the beauty and significance of these gifts.

If you know someone who could benefit from this post, please share. God carved out a path of intense healing for me and I would like to share it with as many people who need or want to hear.