Stop and Smell the Flowers

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you." - Job 12:7

I love this photo of Gabriel smelling the flower when he was just a puppy.  He teaches me to do things other than stopping to smell the flowers.  His loyalty to me teaches me to honor, now the memory of, my mother and father.  He teaches me to be consistent in what I expect of him--i.e., to not feed him from the table one time and then annoyed with him when he expects to be fed from the table all the time--or get up on the couch, or a number of other things I might let him do that he shouldn't.  He teaches me I should express my eagerness to see the people I love because I never know if I'll see them again because to a dog I HAVE gone away forever so he's excited that I've come back!  He also teaches me it's good to take a nap when you're tired and to play every chance you get.  But the greatest thing he teaches me is to forgive and forget just like he does if I accidentally step on his foot or if I am busy and leave him sitting at the door too long when he needs to go outside.

I am grateful for my pets because God uses them to teach me how to love more fully.