God sweats the small stuff

I hear people say this a lot, and I'm sure I have too, that sometimes we don't think we should pray for "small stuff" because God has enough to take care of, and our "small problems" are nothing compared to the world's larger ones. Well, God is Almighty, Omnipotent, Omnipresent and All Good...He can do anything He wants and He has no problem listening to our heart's woes no matter how small we think they are. It's such a relief!

This past week my sweet dog, Rudy, was literally "sick as a dog". She started vomiting in the middle of the night, and did so probably every 30 minutes for the next 24 hours. She couldn't even keep a drop of water down, she was lifeless, she was starting to shake with what I assume was a fever. My sweet, vibrant pup was acting like a dying old dog. After a sleepless night with her and a busy week working at VBS, my emotions were getting to me and I was genuinely starting to worry. The VBS theme was "everything is possible with God", and we reminded the kids that no matter what, they can trust God. Even though that message was for the kids, it reminded me to do the same.

Around 6:30 Rudy vomited again, she immediately drank water because she was so dehydrated. So even though I felt slightly silly, I put my hands on her and I pleaded for God to let this water stay down and rehydrate her body. Well, she fell asleep on me for 3 solid hours and didn`t get up once to vomit. Every hour that passed, I praised God for hearing my prayer and helping my little Rudy. By the time we went to bed she still hadn`t vomited since 6:30. In the middle of the night she went to the tub to get a drink, but drank too much, too fast, and threw it up, but that was the last time. The next morning, she was more vibrant and was sniffing for food. She ate a few bites of food and her tail was finally curled again. I was, and am, SO thankful! Ì`m not sure what was wrong with her, but God healed her!

I think we are quick to miss God in the small stuff (or even the big). When people are sick, doctors and medicine are there to test and medicate and soothe them so when they become healthy again, it is sometimes assumed it was from their medical care. However, with a dog, you can`t force the proper fluids, pills or food into them no matter how hard you try, they just suffer through it. So when I saw this drastic turnaround with Rudy`s health, I knew God was working.

To some people, a dog is a dog. Rudy is often very hyper when we have guests and she licks way too much. But when it`s just Devin and I, she is cuddly, calm, sleepy, playful and adorable. She follows me around the house and sometimes even sits on the bath mat and waits for me as I shower. She knows when I`ve taken something out of the fridge to dice or chop and she`s standing right underneath me waiting for a prize to drop. She prefers me most of the time, but will only sleep comfortably with Devin. She is such a special little part of our house. I like to think that God knows how special she is to us, and He spared her from whatever this illness was.  God reveals himself in such interesting ways. He has once again shown me how much He loves me.