A Dog’s Best Friend

My morning started with my husband’s late alarm ringing in my ear at 5:45 am, rushing out of bed “saying not-so-great things in my head” and heading downstairs to get the day started. The “Mom Brain” in me was needing to complete tasks, packing lunches for the kids, making a quick breakfast, doing my daughter’s hair, getting ready for a morning walk, and hoping that I can begin my day with God before dropping off the kids at the bus stop. Doesn’t seem like a big to-do list but I felt rushed and just all over the place, my motivation to even take a walk was not there, and often said in my head “I will just workout at home today, likely not, I have so much to do. i.e. finish laundry, clean the kitchen, bathroom, my room, study and the list goes on and on for my Friday morning”.

I was successful and checked off the first few things but even though I started my prayer/quiet time with God, I felt anxious to check things off again. I often check the time to ensure that I have time for the other last-minute things before the bus arrived at 7:08 am. I had my mini conversation with God, did some journaling and then I heard him say “Go for a walk and be in my presence, I have so much to say”. Just with that simple loving and small voice, my heart started filling with excitement to know what God wanted to tell me. I got pumped, got ready, headed to the bus stop, prayed along the way with the kids and they left to begin their school day.

I realized after, I got ready with water, and put on the leash for Bear (we are babysitting him for the weekend, while our closest friends travel), he was a part of the inspiration for this first blog coming out, didn’t know it at the time.

We left the house, I turned on my iWatch tracker to of course see how much I burn for the day, my steps, and miles, it looked totally gloomy, and prayed that it wouldn’t rain on us for a second, I even asked the kids before they left to pray for me that it didn’t rain on my walk! I blasted my music on, Country Faith to be exact and it got me ready to rock this walk with a big dog that I am not used to walking often. I was hopeful that he would walk at my pace and not run off while I catch my breath but he did, he was relaxed, peaceful, and happy. We both were smiling ear to ear, looking at the amazing Mountain Views, the clouds shifting and darkening along the way, and felt the fresh soft breeze hit our faces, we spotted a baby bunny and appreciated the outside like never before.

It seemed like just a simple walk but that’s when I started to hear God. I tuned out the words of the song playing but heard the music from a distance as he shared, what the first blog would be about. God gave me the title “A Dog’s Best Friend”, he started sharing the importance of our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health can be found in animals as he created them to be our companions in all things, just as he is present in our lives through the good and bad.

Now mind you, we do have our own dog at home, but she would not withstand an almost 4-mile walk; she is what we call now-a-days “bougie”, she has short tiny little legs, loves to sleep, and just cuddle up on you, while you do the same, she is a tea-cup Yorkshire Ms. Gigi. Yes, we love her, but she is not a trooper for adventures in the outdoors as Bear is. All I could do while we kept walking and walking was smile. God reminded me of my own struggles with just getting myself up to exercise, no matter what that looked like and today, I did an almost 4-mile walk, never have I ever been able to accomplish that. I wasn’t out of breath for one second, I kept looking to my side and there he was by my side, not leaving me, protecting me on the sidewalk, and crossing the street every time without a fail. Bear was there! I felt at peace, safe, and protected. Bear was a part of that feeling but I realized that it was more than that, it was understanding how God is my protector, my companion, the peace that surrounds me through the storms of life and he is my best friend.

Bear and I ended all the way to the Dead End sign! We stopped and took a couple of pictures of our successful walk together and my heart fluttered with love, peace, excitement and so much joy that I have been missing for quite some time in the past few months. I heard a ding on my phone of a text from my husband, saying “It starting raining”, I let him know that we were walking back home. We turned back and what do you know, what I was asking my kids in the morning to pray for me and what I asked God to ensure not to happen, it started raining! The rain only got me happier, and peaceful, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. We walked home in the rain but it was so worth it, we saw cars coming and going, staring back at us like we were a bit nuts to be walking in rain but we kept going on what God started us to do. Throughout our walk back home, I sent some Bear and I photos to his parents to show them how happy he is and doing wonderful without them for a few days, hanging with his Auntie!

During my walk there and definitely my walk back home, I kept praising and thanking God for giving me the inspiration to write again, to see what more is out there to give to others, when they are feeling lost, alone, and burdened with out of control situations of what life throws as us all the time. Thank you, God, I said” Thank you God for giving me the strength to walk almost 4 miles with a big dog, Thank you God for Bear and having him with us for the weekend, Thank you to our best friends for trusting us with him”. That is what I kept doing on the way home, praising and thanking the Lord for what he put in front of me to appreciate.

If I hadn’t listened to God tell me to still go for my morning walk this morning, I wouldn’t have been inspired by Bear to write this blog. In closing, we all have our best friend that we can turn to, we all can have an animal that can give us that boost of happiness and joy but with all things it is temporary, we have seasons with people, animals, and situations. In the end, we can look up to the sky, close our eyes for a second, and know that God is a part of our journey and know in our hearts that it is a never-ending relationship and friendship with him.

Whatever the storm in your life is, whether it is thunder or a drizzle, take a step in Faith and go for a walk with your best friend, the one and only God that will not forsake you in times of trouble but will comfort you to get through.

Prayer

My prayer for you today is to be inspired by what is in front of you, you might be surprised that it might just take that long 4-mile walk with a big or tiny dog, in this case for me Bear, to find God where you are at at the moment, so you can hear his voice again and allow his presence to overfill you with joy, peace and love.