WHAT MY NEUROTIC DOG TAUGHT ME ABOUT LOVE

WHAT MY NEUROTIC DOG TAUGHT ME ABOUT LOVE

Leading up to Easter this week has me thinking about all that God has done for me, His goodness, His faithfulness, but especially His love.  The fact that Jesus, knowing all my sins and failures, went and died on the cross for my sins and then "throat punched death", as my pastor always says, is so amazing and humbling. You can't find that unconditional love in any other relationship.
This is not a great comparison to what Christ did for us at Calvary, but it's love none the less. I have two dogs. One is old and cranky, the other, Sebastian, is neurotic (he could really use some doggy counseling). Greg and I couldn't decide what to get our oldest son for Christmas that year so Greg came up with the great idea of a puppy. We already had two dogs, but Greg loved them and sold me on the fact that we could get Jake a Schnauzer, which is the type of dog I grew up with. Greg scoured the internet and found a local dealer. We met them in a strip mall and we bought him out of the back of their van (not sure how accredited they were, but the dealer description fits:) There were two puppies left. A plump roly-poly puppy that sat there and enjoyed the environment around him, and his rambunctious brother with ADHD. I wanted the plump one, but Greg saw a kindred spirit in the other one, so crazy came home with us. We were a few months away from Greg's brain surgery. The disease had set in, but he could still walk with help and his speech was still recognizable. But he did already suffer from debilitating stiffness. We had to hide the puppy with some friends until the night before Christmas. Our friends stealthily brought the puppy over after the kids had gone to bed and we brought the puppy into our room. Of course the puppy cried in his kennel and we didn't want the kids to hear, so up on the bed he came. He was so cute and curious about everything, Greg and I enjoyed watching his sweet puppy-ness. Even as a puppy he was very "talkative" and loving, wanting to be up around our faces. We got him settled down and I fell asleep, but woke up when Greg started yelping. I turned on the lights to find the puppy wanting to play with Greg, but his sharp claws were cutting Greg's arm and he couldn't do anything about it. There might have been some reflection on my part as to possibly making a better choice choosing the other puppy and maybe this is what you asked for so this is what you get, but I can't be sure. Needless to say, it was a long night for me, but the excitement from our kids the next day made it all worthwhile.
Greg adored Sebastian and Seb adored him. After Greg's brain surgery, he and I were gone from the home for two months after nearly losing him. Greg came home changed, in a wheelchair, needing a lot of assistance and I think this is where the neurotic part of Seb's personality started. He's a very smart and intuitive dog and could sense that something was different. His behavior became more demonstrative, as if he knew his crazy antics would make Greg laugh. When Greg finally didn't come home is when Sebastian's over enthusiasm about the kids and I coming home amped up. I think his aggressive love is a way to make sure we know that he is obsessed us. His endless crying when we come home is to show he missed us. His up in your face, bite your hair is to show how much he wants to be with us.
This poor illustration does remind me of God's love. His love is aggressive, it's obsessive, it's relentless, it's passionate. In Jeremiah 31:3, God says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." He was talking to Israel here, but his death on the cross for us proves He feels this way about us. It's everlasting. It's always been, it will always be. We can't earn His love and we certainly don't deserve it, but He gives it to us unconditionally. It doesn't even matter if we're neurotic! I have worshipped God and I have screamed at him. I have served Him and I have rebelled. But none of that matters. God loves me through it all and He loves you too! How amazing is His love for us, even in our beautifully broken, neurotic lives!