A Dog's Life

For the past 5 years, my life has been challenged, filled with both frustration and laughter due to the addition of a family member. Her name is Coco and she is 35 years old (in dog years of course). She is energetic, full of love, wants lots of attention and is fiercely protective of her family. Coco has the heart of a big dog but she weighs approximately 10 pounds soaking wet and at her furriest. I’m sure the title gave you a big clue that I’m talking about our family pet. ~Smile~ Coco is a Shih-Tzu Pomeranian mix breed. She has the feisty personality of a Pomeranian but mostly resembles a Shih-Tzu. This is one small dog with a gigantic personality. When we’re out and about in the neighborhood (and she’s barking like she could really do major damage) people’s comments range from “Awe she’s cute!” to “Don’t hurt me killer!” LOL!

What I like most about Coco is her ability to love. I can fuss at Coco for stealing from the kitchen trash, but minutes later she’s looking for a rubdown and is happy. Maybe that’s not the best example, LOL! Here’s another one, there are days when we get home later than usual to let her outside or feed her. She always looks happy to see us, no attitude at all that we are late. She just does her happy dance and her temperament is the same.

A few days ago as I was preparing dinner, Coco was curled up and resting on the floor looking quite content. I opened the refrigerator to take out an ingredient. I look behind me and Coco is standing at attention, wagging her tail with a hopeful look on her face and expecting a treat. I closed the door and told her “Not right now, maybe later.” She walked away and lay down again. I thought about her reaction and laughed as this “light bulb moment”. Coco’s response is the way God wants us to response when we want something but the timing isn’t right. “Not now, maybe later.” When He closes a door or doesn’t give us what we think we need or want, it is so easy to pout, whine, cry, get angry and even turn our backs on Him. But instead of having a fit or pity party, continue doing what you were doing before (like Coco) and wait patiently for God’s perfect timing. That’s how God wants us to be, always expecting something good from Him, always ready to receive His blessings!

As a single mom, it’s easy to become discouraged in waiting for things to change or prayers to be answered. Often we have either put our own time stamp on things or just wish God would hurry up. But if we would set our minds and hearts on the fact that God knows what’s best for us, we would be more like Coco—very content with our lives.

I learned a valuable lesson from Coco that day. In case you were wondering, I did give Coco a treat after I was finished cooking. After all, she inspired this blog, LOL! Maybe a dog’s life is the way to live. ~Smile~


See you in 2 weeks,
Jennifer

I'll be back on Wednesday, November 17th, hope to see you then!


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