I got a dog about a month ago. Her name is Indy. She is a 1 year old apricot/red maltipoo. And I’m here to tell you she is the love of my life. Now, I know there are a lot of you that are laughing because I was so opposed to having a pet for so long. Well, not opposed, but not ready to have one since I had never had one before. I don’t know what I thought it would be like, but it isn’t anything like I thought. It’s wonderful.

Considering the fact that I live alone, having another beating heart in my house is a dream. I can hear her breathing and chewing and licking and snoring. Sometimes she will bark if she’s excited, but not very often [praise the Lord!]. And over the last month I’ve been less anxious or fearful. She has calmed me like voodoo magic or something. She’s a 6lb ball of joy and love and comfort.

I like to take her for a walk every day, if weather and time permit. Since she’s in her crate when I’m at work I only find it fair to get her little legs out in the open. I enjoy the walks and the people we meet who want to pet her. It’s good for both of us.

The other day on my lunch break I needed to get a cake in the oven before we set our for our jaunt about town. It took me about 20 minutes and she couldn’t have been more impatient. I mean jumping and licking and acting all crazy (it was honestly adorable). I looked at her and said, “I PROMISE we are going to go for a walk in a minute. I just need to do this first. Please calm down!" She didn’t understand a word of it, but I needed to say it, and it made me stop and think about my relationship with the Lord over the last few months/years. I’m Indy. I’m impatient and doing everything I can to get his attention.

I haven’t been pleased with his timing or his lack of attention. I haven’t been pleased with some people I cared about leaving me high and dry. I haven’t been pleased with the way I feel about myself. I feel like he has been doing something else and I’ve been trying to get his attention, but the truth is, I have had his full attention but he needs me to wait a little longer before we can go for our “walk”. He is doing something else in me right now. I’m not ready for the walk. I’m not ready quite yet. But I can’t understand it. He is simply asking me to please calm down and trust him. This is hard for me.

See, Indy doesn’t know that I will always take care of her and do what is best for her because she is a dog. She can’t see how much I love her or how consistent I promise to be with her. Because she is a dog. Just as we are human and God is God. We cannot see it all. We just have to trust that when he says, “I just need to do this first” he means that the best is yet to come. 

What a simple truth to be taught by a furry friend. What a simple way to understand that we know the depth of love for our kids or pets but they can never understand it. And the same goes for our Savior. We can never understand it, but we can have faith that he is true, and kind, and just. We just have to be a little patient and he’ll put us right where we need to be at exactly the right time. Just calm down.