Yesterday, we got a new puppy, Banjo.

We had two Walker coon dogs, but last year, one got loose and we were never able to find her. We have been wanting another dog to go outside so poor Dixie could have some company.

Banjo is half Walker, half Bluetick. He is absolutely adorable…but he’s a lot of work! He’s a baby, just six weeks old. This means he cries when he’s left alone (sometimes even when he thinks he’s alone, but he really isn’t), and he wants to chew on everything (fingers, toes, shoes, computer cords…everything except the teething bones we bought for him to chew on).

I was thinking tonight about how I’m a lot like that.

I wonder if God ever gets exasperated with me.

He constantly has to stay on top of me, making sure I don’t get into a mess. I would easily hurt myself and those around me if He wasn’t there to say, “No, no. Don’t do that. Don’t go there. Don’t touch that. Come over here. Leave that alone.”
He’s given me instructions in His Word as to how I should live and what I should do and not do…but how many times do I completely bypass the tools He has left for me and try to do things on my own, and He has to step in to stop me from making a mess? More times than I’d care to admit.

Also, I cry. A lot. I didn’t always cry all the time. When I was younger, I was tough. It took a lot to make me cry, especially as a teenager. I was not going to be one of those weepy, dramatic, messy girls. I refused. I even took pride in that fact.
But not anymore!
I have faced things in my life that have completely torn those rough, stony walls down, and now, you’d be surprised at how little it takes on certain days for me to be reduced to a puddle of tears…and then, I’m good for nothing.
Sometimes, even though I may be surrounded by people, I feel alone. And I cry. I don’t always cry tears on the outside, but inside, I’m a big weeper.
Sometimes, I even feel like God is no where to be found. I get so wrapped up in my pity party that I convince myself I’m all alone.
Of course, God hasn’t left me. He’s promised to never leave or forsake me. I’m not alone. But I feel alone. And I cry…until He comes and reminds me, “I’m still here.”

I’m so glad that the Lord is so patient with me.
He doesn’t fly off the handle when I misbehave. He doesn’t speak unkind words to me in anger. He doesn’t do anything to hurt or harm me. Sometimes, he rebukes and reprimands me, but it is always done in love…and that’s how I learn.
He doesn’t see my tears and broken heart and tell me to just dry it up and get over it. He doesn’t despise my tears. He understands them. The book of Psalms says He actually keeps them in His bottle! (I’ve often thought what a huge bottle that must be!!)

I’ve met some compassionate people in my life, but they’re nothing compared to Christ. He is so far above things of this world. There is absolutely no comparison to be made.

No one ever cared for me like Jesus! There’s no other friend so kind as He. No one else could take my sin and darkness from me. Oh, how much He cares for me!