Recently I posted about all the “things” to love around Casa de Fe. Today’s post is to add one more to the list.
Meet the luckiest puppy on the planet…
The kids have affectionately named him Jeff.
*So I came back to edit this post, becuase the more I thought about it, the more I realized “little Jeff” is very much like us people.
When Little Jeff came to us at Casa de Fe, he was pitiful. He was obviously full of worms and if left to himself, he probably would have died. But someone made sure he had the medicine he needed. Within a few days, his tummy was a normal size, and it was obvious that he was in much better health. He is fed and loved and has a safe place to live and play.
Max (our other dog) was much the same way when he showed up at Casa de Fe. If it were up to me, I probably would have sent him away. In fact, I remember thinking that someone should put the poor thing out of his misery. I even remember thinking that the nasty stray surely must have some disease that would endanger our children.
But someone saw more than I did. Someone looked past the dirty coat of straggly fur. Max was dewormed, fed and hydrated. The speedy improvement has amazed me. His coat shines, and his eyes are bright and alert. He is, without a doubt, a member of the Casa de Fe family…loving and being loved.
I am meeting God at every turn here in Ecuador. And He keeps sending the same messages over and over. Apparently, I’m a slow learner. In both these dogs, in many of the children and even in people around town, I have been reminded of 1 Samuel 16:7 that states, “man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” God has reminded me that I need to look past outward appearances to see people’s hearts. And even more difficult, I need to spend more time cultivating my own heart and the hearts of my children than in keeping up outward appearances. So much easier said than done, but I am so thankful for all that He is teaching me.
Just like these puppies, God finds us a mess–sickly, pitiful, dirty. But He picks us up out of whatever pit He finds us in. He cleans us up through the blood of Christ. He grows us by the truth of His Word. He loves us in spite of ourselves. And I’m so glad He does!