Look Up - Pawverbs for a Dog Lover's Heart

Ears that hear and eyes that see—the LORD has made them both.

AMBER CLEARED A PATH with her foot through a pile of dirty laundry so she could get to the back door. “Ow!” she cried as she stepped on a stray Lego.

“Mom!” her son and daughter yelled in unison. “Where are the goggles?”

“The new school year cannot start soon enough, Suzie Poo,” Amber mumbled to their nine-week-old Australian shepherd–Queensland heeler mix, who wiggled anxiously in her arms.

“Hang on, girl. Let me open the door.”

Once outside, Amber set the puppy on the grass and chanted, “Go potty,” for what seemed like the eighty-seventh time that morning. Suzie’s leash dangled from Amber’s hand as she urged the puppy to do her business—hoping she would soon make the connection between the action and the appropriate location.

Amber glanced at her watch.

The kids need lunch before swim lessons.

Do I have bread?

What am I going to make for dinner?

Ugh, I forgot to put the clothes in the washer!

She jiggled the leash. “Hurry up, girl.”

Amber felt a flood of stress engulf her. She loved being a mom. Loved having this time with her kids. Loved every gift God had given her.

But she was tired.

So tired.

She needed rest. And maybe a vacation in Maui.

Look up.

The words came as a whisper to her heart. Not audible to human ears, yet clear and authoritative to her soul.

And so Amber looked up.

The brilliant blue sky was awash with swirls of wispy clouds, creating lovely white patterns. A slight breeze caused the leaves in the maple tree to rustle and dance, and she laughed at two squirrels playing fast tag up another tree.

Amber inhaled deeply, driving the racing thoughts from her mind.

She took a deep breath, then another. Each time she felt as though she were inhaling God’s rest and peace and exhaling her stress and worry. Her soul felt lighter.

With one last glance toward the heavens, Amber turned her attention back to Suzie Poo. “C’mon. Let’s head inside.” Her life as a mom didn’t miraculously slow down and become manageable that summer—and she doubted it would for quite a while. But that day outside revealed an important truth to her: True rest can be found in little stolen moments with God.

That day, puppy training time turned from a necessary annoyance to a sacred time of rest with God. He opened Amber’s eyes and ears to see and hear the wondrous beauty all around her.

And while she would gladly accept a Hawaiian vacation in the future, her stolen moments with God provided just what she needed in the moment.

PAWS & PONDER . . .

When have you felt closest to God? Where were you and what were you doing? Take a moment to “look up” today—to look above your circumstances and see a glimpse of the Creator. Use your eyes and ears to look at and listen closely to the things around you. Ask God to fill your soul with rest as you breathe in his presence.

Paws & Pray

Lord, my soul craves the rest only you can give. Would you lift my head so I can see well beyond my circumstances? Help me to see past the mundane in order to glimpse the divine.

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.