Oftentimes, God crosses my paths with other strong believers. I praise Him for it tonight because My Father tells me in His Word, “Do not forsake the gathering together of the saints.” But, that can be hard to follow during certain times of the year, when it seems challenging to get together–people’s plans take them to different parts of the world and friends seem far away.
But, today, at the Gerald Jones Honda Dealer, 5 minutes down the street, I struck up a simple conversation with one woman about a dog (it was a beautiful huge, sweet Rotweiler). I could tell it was possibly a service dog by the way the lady, its owner, was walking, and then she confirmed it right away. I’m always thankful when I see these kinds of dogs when my kids are not around, because it is just so painful to not pet the dog! She talked about how well trained the beautiful dog was, and I could see he was mostly well trained…and then the lady moved from her spot across from me to right next to me on the same couch. I was glad to have a really nice conversation with her and eventually, her dog had licked both sides of my hands! I have been praying about a dog since we got here at the Haven…and praying I am continuing to do, but oh, I love dogs!!! This was the sweetest, cutest dog. He was very obedient and that gives me hope. Dogs ARE more easy to train than kids 😉 I think often to a most precious little doggie I helped raise, named Winnie. A combination of a gordon setter and a dalmation and one other breed, this dog was the most loyal, faithful, best running buddy you could ever imagine. I loved that dog more than I had loved almost anything to that point, besides my family.
After that lady had to go, another lady began talking. She had a lot to say and I loved listening to her. My appt lasted 3 1/2 hours, as I had to wait for brakes to be changed, and we had such a nice conversation that it made the time fly. I could tell that this lady needed to talk and I was happy to be able to be a listening ear. When she left, she mentioned she was so glad I had made the time go by so fast for her.
After she left, another lady and I began to chat, although this one was a bit quieter. We talked about dogs, big dogs and small dogs. And then I began my bible study that I have been working on. I’m thankful to have a bible study to finish before I begin my next one mid-January. I love books that make me study the bible and delve deeper into its personal meaning for my life, but even more to just be able to continually reflect on who Jesus is and what He can do. It is so thrilling to me.
I finished part of my study and my car was ready to go!
I commented to all 3 ladies, it is SO good to connect with other believers, and each of them nodded and sighed in agreement.
Amen to that and getting my brakes fixed today! My steering wheel no longer shakes 🙂
It is good to take a stop, to focus our wheel (our direction), and keep it aimed on Christ and encouraging one another in the faith. 🙂
Walking in Faith 