It was time for a dog.
We had our eyes set on “Chips.” He had been in the shelter for about a month, and had not yet been adopted. He growled at people, barked when they walked by his kennel, and scared kids. It was no wonder people didn’t even give him a second glance, especially without knowing his story.
Chips had lived with a family for 3 years. They lived in Florida. When his humans divorced, custody was given to the husband, who had to move in with his mother. But the mother said, “no way, no dogs.” So after a life of playing with tennis balls, catching frisbees, going for walks and sleeping in warm beds, Chips was surrendered to a shelter. When we heard his story, it made sense that he was not happy being locked up with a hard floor to sleep on and nowhere to expend his abundant energy. People had let him down. He was probably confused…and angry. To us, his story explained a lot.
When we saw Chips we saw past his behavior at the shelter. We saw a dog that needed a new hope. He was more than eager to come home with us, and in the 3 days that he has been with us he is already a far cry from what he was at the shelter. He plays with our kids. He snuggles up next to us. He’s barked only twice. And we’ve given him a new name for his new life with us.
Like Chips, all of us have a story. Many stories, in fact. We have stories that might explain some of the habits we have, or things we like to do. We have stories that might explain why we live where we live, work where we work and worship where we worship. We also have a story of where we have been, but we, too, have a Loving Father who sees past our faults and longs to adopt us, bring us into His family, and give us a new hope. Eagerly go with Him! Your new story can start now!
“…And the Lord will give you a new name….for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his own.” -Isaiah 62:2,4
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