the dog we almost, well never had

I am a sucker! My man and I have had the discussion, "We will not get a dog" many many times. We both agree. We've had a dog before and we don't want that kind of commitment again. I grew up with dogs, always had one or two. I think they are great, but it is a commitment of 10 plus years! I had a dog who lived 15 & 1/2 years long. So my grandma, who lives next door, has this guy who helps in manage her gigantic yard. He found a baby black lab. She was really cute, sweet puppy breath and all! He was unable to keep her and he wasn't having much luck finding her a home. Instantly I wanted to say yes. Her pudgy little waist, sweet innocent eyes won my heart immediately. How fun would it be for the kids to have a little bundle of joy to follow them all over the property, frolicking, playing, laughing, petting. I could see the whole thing played out like an award winning family motion picture. We have a big yard, it is already fenced in, the kids love to play outdoors so it won't be lonely. The only expense would be to get her fixed (why do we call it that?) and dog food. Surely we can handle that. We need her and she needs us.

I call my man, I tell him to go ahead and say "no". He does and then I give him the pitch, still the answer is "no". I email pictures but the reply I get is "no". I am thinking, "Man, what is the deal! Can't he just consider it!" So we keep the dog for about half and day and it gets 5 names: Puppy, Sissy, Jelly Bean (my favorite), Co-Co, Chocolate Chip. The kids frolic and play with the little pup. We have a picnic outside, she eats the dropped pieces of hotdog, they run around and play some more. Then she curls up and takes a nap on our deck. It is all just like the sappy little movie in my head. By two in the afternoon, the newness was wearing off. The kids were ready to come back inside. We returned her next door and said our goodbyes. There still was a glimmer of hope, but as I noticed the kids having zero emotional trauma from returning her, I began to realize it was fun for a day. None of us were really ready for a 10 year commitment. My man was right, the answer is, no.

I am so glad we had this puppy for a day, well half a day. It reminded me of how emotions can really blind us from the truth. Emotions can be like a lie. I look back on life and I made so many "emotional" decisions that led me astray. They guided me off the path of righteousness and pulled me further away from God. Sure getting a puppy probably would not wreck our family life and there isn't any scripture that I can think of that would support adopting abandoned puppies. The point is it went against what we had agreed together as a couple. I love that God gives us choices. He is not about dictatorship. I just want to make choices that are not based on feeling but on the truth that comes from His word and from His spirit.

Boy, am I analytical or what. A life lesson to myself spurred on by an abandoned dog. I think way too much!