With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I thought it would be appropriate to keep the topic relevant to this holiday. This wasn’t my initial intent until a thought about puppy gratitude landed a few days ago.
If you’ve talked with me about Maisy, aka Miss Sassy Pants, aka Tasmanian Devil, any time in the past year, you know the journey has been anything but easy. If you’ve only learned of her through my blog posts here, you likely heard the same story, and came to the same conclusion.
Maisy is A LOT of work!
She’s brought tons of frustration, tears, and exhaustion into my life. Without question, she’s the hardest dog I’ve ever “tried” to train. And the blog inspirations that she’s been behind have all been about the hard lessons I’m learning because of this strong-willed, dominant little girl.
Oh sure, I might have tacked on a couple of “but I still love hers” to take a bit of the edge off my stories, but they were clearly an afterthought, and you might have even missed them.
A few days ago, I was lying on my bed with both dogs. They had landed there when I was doing some chores in the bedroom, so I decided to join them for a short respite. During those few moments, Maisy fell asleep and started dreaming.
If you own dogs, you know what I’m talking about. Lots of little “woofs” and a fair amount of leg jerking. Clearly, she was after something, or something was after her in this dream.
But here’s the kicker. I thought it was SO adorable, that this was my next thought – “You bring joy into my life when I least expect it.”
Where did that come from? Well, the next thought process led me down the road that is resulting in this blog post.
As I thought through this newfound revelation, I realized that, despite the overwhelming challenge she has been to me this past year, there were so many facets of this little girl that I deeply loved, and for which I was grateful.
I started listing out the moments and the memories that make me smile.
- How much she loves to snuggle each morning while I read the paper and do my devotions. And every night as I read a book before turning lights out.
- The infamous Frenchie noises she makes when we’re having a rassling session. She’s only 50% Frenchie, but this was what I was hoping for. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out this video that will give you a taste of it, and probably a good laugh.
- The way she barks and carries on every time she sees her reflection in the dresser mirror … still.
- The transformation that comes over her whenever Max the cat shows up in her world. Her ears go back, she smiles (as only a dog can), and her entire body starts to wiggle around because she loves him SO much. Max does not share the love…
- The athlete she has become as she leaps practically shoulder height to grab her favorite backyard toy. It always ends with multiple “wipe outs” which don’t phase her for a second.
- How quickly she learned to stop playing as soon as I give her the time out gesture, just like in the football games.
- The way she never breaks eye contact with me any time she’s in trouble and she’s getting a scolding from me. OK, maybe I’m not truly grateful for this, but I’ve learned to appreciate her self-confidence!
- How very soft her coat is.
- The way she can rock the look of the mutilated sunflower on her collar.
- The trooper she was at the vet when her nail had to be painfully removed. She immediately gave the vet tech a kiss after the procedure.
- The adorable way she cocks her head back and forth when she’s trying to understand what I’m saying.
Honestly, I could go on and on with these moments. Too bad I couldn’t include videos of all of them.
It reminded me of a crucial element in our quest for gratitude.
Of course, it’s important to identify the big things for which we are thankful. Family, friends, church, health, home, etc. etc. We can easily list the parts of our lives that are going well, and be grateful for them.
But more importantly, can we find gratitude in the midst of the hard stuff? Are all those bullet-point moments still true when she’s defied me for the millionth time? Or eaten one too many “undesirables” in the backyard? Or awakened me again in the 4 am hour? Or mercilessly harassed her elderly sister despite my pleas to STOP?
Yes, I’m still grateful for all the precious moments, and even personality quirks, that make me love her so.
With so much heartache and turmoil in the world today, can we still find gratitude in the midst of that? Is it possible for the circumstances that cause us the greatest amount of anguish to also produce elements for which we are thankful?
I believe it’s an exercise with tremendous rewards. Learning to look for the silver lining, while still acknowledging the storm clouds, is a skill that can serve us well regardless of what troubles befall us. I know it’s one that I’m working on diligently with God’s help.
On this holiday week, may I say that I’m grateful to you, my readers, for faithfully following the winding road I share with you. Your encouragement blesses me more than you know. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
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