It was an ugly cry
I wish I could say it wasn’t, but after falling to the floor in tears and working through two Kleenex boxes, I don’t think I could call it anything else. The doctor had just come in to inform me that my golden retriever of ten years had a tumor wrapped around her heart. She was suffering and needed to be put down. The flood of emotions was so strong, the pain so real that the doctor had to leave while I cried.
Many of you reading this might be wondering why I would cry so hard over an animal. You might be wondering if it’s healthy for someone to be so attached to a dog. Perhaps you are right, but I think my dog showed me a side of God’s love that I had not experienced.
Sound familiar?
Just in case this blog sounds familiar, I want to point out that we recently posted another blog on how dogs reflect God’s love. You can read Caleb Jenkins’s blog HERE. That blog inspired this one because I wanted to write about another aspect of love that resonated with me deeply. So, let me tell you about Sunny.
Sunny
Sunny was short for Sundance, and she was named after the 1969 classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which happens to be my favorite movie. Sunny was also a dog I did not initially want. When we were newly married and didn’t yet have kids, my sweet and persistent wife tried to talk me into getting a golden retriever puppy. Eventually, I ran out of excuses, and we went to pick up the puppy.
You should understand that at this point, I was not a dog person. There was a big adjustment period for me as I adapted to life with a dog. I still don’t know if I am a dog person, but Sunny changed me. She showed me a side of love that I had never experienced before. No matter what I did or how I was doing, Sunny loved me.
Sunny loved me
If I was angry that Sunny made a mess and I would yell at her, Sunny loved me. If I was irritated that Sunny was an inconvenience, Sunny loved me. If I was tired of vacuuming (there was so much hair!), Sunny loved me. If I had a hard day at work, Sunny loved me. If I was scared of moving, Sunny loved me. If I was in an argument with Hanna and I was wrong, Sunny loved me. If I was tired, Sunny loved me. If I was a mess, Sunny loved me. It literally did not matter what I did or how I was doing. Sunny ALWAYS loved me and cared for me. She would come to me wagging her tail, lie down by me, and put her head on my lap. There was a pure and unconditional love that came from her. I could not mess it up, and I couldn’t change it. No matter what, Sunny loved me.
What does this have to do with God?
This unconditional love offered by my dog is unlike any and every human relationship I have. The same is true for you. At some point, there are places of doubt and questions we ask: Did I say too much? Did I go too far? Am I enough? Will they still love me?
I do the same thing with God. Cognitively, I know that God loves me, that he is near me, and that nothing I do can separate me from his love. But I don’t always feel it, and I don’t always act like it. I often fall into old habits of working for God’s acceptance rather than leaning into the truth that God loves me.
Sunny offered a tangible expression of unconditional and selfless love. She showed me one of the ways in which God loves. If I am angry, hurt, or upset, God loves me. If I fail, make a mess of things, or am a complete disaster, God loves me, pursues me, sits by me, holds me, and comforts me. I have often said these things are true about God but have not felt it. Sunny was a tangible expression of God’s love. She reminded me how God loves me, and she demonstrated that love day after day.
Thank God for Sunny
When my wife and I had to say goodbye to Sunny, we held her, cried, and thanked God for her. I specifically thanked God for helping me experience this pure form of his love. I am grateful to God for revealing a small example of his love through my dog.
I’m not trying to convince you that you need a dog. Rather, I hope you will take a moment to thank God the next time you feel that warmth from an animal sitting next to you and loving you. God’s love is so much greater than we can imagine, yet he offers us these small, tangible examples of his love. My prayer is that you will also experience his love in a tangible and meaningful way today.
