Hindsight is 20/20

God never ceases to amaze me at His leading. When I seek Him and listen to His promptings, I find myself being led to some pretty counter-intuitive decisions. Take the addition of our puppy as an example.

Chuck and I had promised our daughter, Amber, a puppy for her 13th birthday seeing as animals is one of her "glories". She set out researching and decided she wanted/must have a smooth coated collie/German shepherd mix. She found a local breeder (do mixed breeds really need a "breeder"?) When we got discussing this as a family, we realized those dogs are gigantic for our rather small house that seems full to the brim with 7 people living here 24/7 already! Her spirits were crushed when we told her we didn't think that size would work well--is this how parenting is suppose to work when you're trying to bless your child? Her next choice after searching some dog rescue sites was a 3 legged blue heeler/border collie mix. I had some concerns about health,etc. and Chuck just had a flat out "no"--another tear session. Logic would tell us that the end of summer would be the best timing with our planned vacations, etc. Perhaps she just needed to wait.

The following day, Monday, Amber, while crushed in spirit, realized that the 3 legged dog was helping her see what her true desire was concerning a breed so she prayed (unknown to me) for a blue heeler/border collie mix that was young. The next morning the kids and I were having a devotion with Psalm 16 and we were discussing God making known the paths to life. I asked what paths are we at the beginning of that we need God to show us which is the path to life? The dog was an obvious one. We prayed, then the idea to check the humane society website came to mind. Popped up before our very eyes was the most adorable puppy AND the guess at his breed was border collie/blue heeler!!!! We went to see him and well, the rest is history!!! We now own, Kody, a four month old mix who is the smartest dog I've seen and can't get enough love, attention and belly rubs.

Its like God saved him just for Amber. He was available for adoption the week previous (the day after Amber's actual birthday AND the day we were leaving for vacation) BUT he developed kennel cough and they had to treat him before he could be adopted. He was quarantined for a week to receive medicine and then became available the day after Amber prayed!! This is now Tuesday and we were going to Valley Fair the next day--not a good time to bring home a puppy with human wisdom. However, we had peace to move ahead. He did fine in the make shift kennel we made for him to stay in while we were gone the whole next day.

Three days later, Snickers, our 15 year old Sheltie started going down hill. We went to the vet and had to start making decisions about treatment vs. putting her down. After many tears, we did decide to put her down.

Human wisdom and all the websites would have told you to not get a new puppy on the heels of losing a pet. We probably would have heeded this. OR with the loss of Snickers, a new puppy could have seemed like we were getting another family pet. With getting Kody a week before having to put down Snickers, it was clear in all of our minds and hearts that Kody was Amber's dog and we were faithful to our promise to her.

Of course Kody won't replace the place in our heart for Snickers, but having him around sure helps heal some of the hurt and also shows us how much life Snickers had lost at the end, somehow justifying a bit having to lose her. We also realized how much bonding takes place during puppyhood due to their constant need of care and their overall goofiness. So thankful Amber prayed for a young dog as opposed to the convenient two year old, potty trained mature dog--we would have missed out on a lot of laughs!!

God is good. His plans far exceed my reasoning and understanding. I have faith that He does make known the paths of life that are truly life because He knows the future, all the details and He owns the universe. Oh that I would seek and trust Him more!!