“For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.” Psalm 33:4 (NIV)
I spoke many months ago about how our puppy has an orphan spirit. I’m not sure if it’s because of how he was born and raised for the first few months of his life or if it’s just his personality, but he has some issues.
We have recently acquired a new family member in the past month. I wanted to make the transition as easy as possible for our orphan pup, so while lots of attention was paid to our newest member, I sat with him and fed him string cheese, a treat he gets occasionally. I wanted him to associate the new member with “fun” instead of feeling threatened or jealous.
Despite my best intentions, I saw insecurity take over his personality within the first 24 to 48 hours of our newest member’s arrival. He was extra clingy, extra mischievous (I guess negative attention is better than no attention?) and has developed a love for kale. I found that odd, since our new member lived in a 40-foot cage, but it was there nonetheless.
That got me thinking about God’s family. God loves each one of His children the same. He tells us that repeatedly in the Bible; yet, aren’t there times when one “child” seems to be blessed extra or steps into a position that we have secretly wanted or appears to have things all together and we become insecure and maybe a bit jealous?
I need to remember that while I may not be where God will eventually have me step, I’m on the journey because I asked God to take me there. I can trust Him to get me there when the time is right. I may never have the position others of His children have, and I need to remember that’s a good thing. God made each one of us unique, talented and gifted and He has a special place with my name on it… just for me. Unlike my orphan pup, I should want to rejoice when God receives a new child, because that means one more person will be sharing our forever home in Heaven together. It doesn’t mean that God loves me less now that He has one more child in Heaven to love. It means I gained a new sibling I get privileged to get to know, one more friend to share life with who shares my values.
Our orphan pup is settling into his role of big brother to a bearded dragon. A worker at the pet store shared a story with me about how her dog plays tug-of-war with her dragon… that is my eventual goal. Our dragon is a hatchling (i.e. very tiny) so tug-of-war isn’t an option at this point. However, I have hope that in a few months, they will be best friends, maybe to the point of cuddling together.
May I never have toward anyone I encounter the orphan spirit that my puppy has toward our new family member. I want to continue to welcome siblings into God’s family, celebrating their gifts and talents and blessings, thankful that another child has been added to His kingdom and I get another friend to spend eternity with.
© Cheri Swalwell 2016