Several years ago, I was talking with my dad about a new car that Megan and I were looking at and that she liked it in white and I liked it in black. To which my dad quickly and simply said, “enjoy your new white car.”
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” James 4:3 ESV
About 9 months ago our neighbors found puppy huddled under one of their outbuilding’s overhang during a rain storm. Upon seeing him soaking wet, shivering and looking at them with his puppy eyes, they rescued him. I am guessing for most parents, you can Paul Harvey this and write “the rest of the story.” (For those of us seasoned enough to know who Paul Harvey is.)
This is where a litany of mistakes began happening on my end. As our neighbor shared this information with my wife and daughter, I was met with “we’re going to go see him”. To which my response should have been, ‘let’s go to the Mall and I’ll give you each a $1,000 to buy something.’ Okay, maybe $100! I did not take this defensive course of action.
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 ESV
Next came the phone call. “Daddy, (A title always reserved for times of asking, aka manipulating though love.) he is so cute. Their dad says they can’t keep him. Can I keep him? He will be my dog? I will take care of him. I will feed him. I’ll take him for walks. House train him. You can count on me, dad.” Like I know that I can count on you and mom to do all this stuff.
“Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding.” Job 12:12 NIV
First, it aggravates me that my much younger neighbor is wiser than me! Secondly, I love my daughter(s) and son with an unreasonable love that surpasses all common sense and with a desire to show them my love in many ways. I love joy. I love to see joy in their faces. I love to watch them share joy with those around them. I should have suggested to Megan that we name them Joy, Joy 2 and Joy 3!?!? I did suggest we name one of the girls Shelby Cobra, the ultimate Southern country girl name. For some reason, she didn’t bite on the idea.
So now 9 months or so later, we have an 80 lb. pet equivalent of a one-year old. His long hair sheds so much that the house is vacuumed daily, oftentimes by his owner, our daughter. He digs up my frail yard. He runs through the house around 8:00 pm every evening, his wake-up hour. He jumps, he chews, he licks (not me!), he eats, he poops like a horse. He delivers joy throughout our family and friends. He contributes to our family and has become a member of our family.
We make allowances for Remington Ruger, aka Remi. BTW, he was named by my sweet southern girls. Not Shelby Cobra, but not bad. Remi has faults and there are frustrations associated with his invading our home, but the joy, the love, the laughter, the addition offsets the negatives in every way. We are richer for Remi having joined our family, and our family lovingly shares the actions and activities that Remi needs to grow and mature.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5 NIV
I write all this to encourage you to ask God for all things and with absolute confidence know that his answer will be what is best for you. His answers are devoid of human emotion and full of the omnipotent and benevolent love that we cannot understand, only trust and accept. The ability to surrender all of our things to the Creator of all things should cause us to willingly lay back in his arms with joy and contentment. Our Heavenly Father has no foolishness in him, like the father who said yes to yet another dog. He knows our needs. He desires to bless our wants with his better plan. Today walk freely in the knowledge that if you will trust and obey, he will exceed your greatest desires in every way.
“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV