Doggone

She's hairy, and dusty, and she sometimes walks so close to me I can't see her in my shadow. Once in a while, her stick-to-me glue gets on my nerves. But she's mine.

She came to me through Craigslist. We've been together since August of 2009. Once in a while I get wistful for a Corgi, or a Basset Hound, or a Shetland Sheep Dog, or a Labrador, or a Mini-Australian Shepherd, or a Blue Heeler/ACD, but I'm pretty happy with my Border Collie.

She thinks she is the boss, she tries to herd children, ducks, chickens, pigs, cows, and goats if you let her. Mostly she takes her "job" of protecting her territory very seriously.

She's quirky. She has one blue eye, and the other eye is 3/4 black and 1/4 blue, which makes her look cross-eyed sometimes. She hates baths and loves popcorn. She sleeps on my feet and is the first to greet me when I come home and open the gate.

Meet Sam.

Unwrapping the Gift of Today

After just one cup of coffee I’m dreaming of sneaking off to the greenhouse - instead of doing dishes and organizing the chaotic mess that is the pantry - where the early morning sun slants in through the glass and begins to warm the day. I can hear the birds singing outside, after a night of rain, they seem much more vibrant and active than usual. I suppose most things feel refreshed after a rain. The grass reaches up, the roots reach down, and all things are in order. 

"All is well," I often see – in notes from my sister, and my mom, and the random new friends I have met in this journey of late. It really is the time spent – the conversation, the eye contact, the shaking hands and saying, “I’m glad I had the chance to meet you,” - that is the most important. 

The take-away from these thoughts about doing what you want to do as opposed to doing what you should do is, "don't be afraid."

Time spent in the greenhouse, listening to the birds, relishing relationships and hearts – this is all what life’s biggest gift is to us. We choose to leave it wrapped or we unwrap it. Sometimes that last part gets messy, and we don’t always clean it up right away, but if we don’t unwrap our gift, how can we give the gift of our hearts to the next individual that needs it? 

Are you afraid to open your gifts?

My mom once shared a little story with me and I’ll paraphrase it to you: Once upon a time, God met me in heaven. As we stood in a hallway there were several doors. He asked me to open one of the doors closest to me. I did. From that room came the most brilliant, but serene, light I had ever seen. Every color imaginable enveloped packages, from tiny to enormous, with all kinds of transcendent coverings, with ribbons and adornments. They all looked so inviting! I turned to Him with a puzzled look in my eyes and he said, “My child, those are all of the gifts you were given, but did not open. They cannot be used to bless others now.”

So the moral of the story is: sneak off to the greenhouse, listen to the birds, soak up the sun, take all of the beauty in, spend that gift, so it can shine back out through you. All is truly well. Or, it can be. Rest in Him. Open your gifts. Pass it on. 

When you unwrap your gifts, you feel good, and when you feel good, you naturally bless others - it's nearly without notice - that's when you send the message to others, "all is well."