Capacity for Joy

Daniel and I have been married for a little over 7 years and it has been a wonderful 7 years. We have a great marriage. Not perfect, but pretty darn good. In 7 years, it is easy to fall into the routines of life and what is normal.

When we got Sophie, we weren't really sure what to expect. The night before she came to us, we even doubted the whole idea of getting a dog. Were we ready for this? It was so sudden, and we didn't *feel* excited or ready. We didn't even get to meet to meet her beforehand - we had only seen a photo and had a guarantee that if it didn't work out, we could give her back.

So here we are 8 months later and we are amazed at how much she has become a part of our lives. Before we had her, we thought we were pretty happy (and we were). But now, we have experienced a new type of joy. One we didn't even know existed. We were perfectly content but now we can't imagine our lives without her.

As I write this, she is cuddled up next to me and it makes me forget that I have to get up and feed her or make time to walk her. Or clean up after her. Or deal with her idiosyncrasies.

I was recently talking with a friend about heaven and how much joy we will experience there - joy beyond anything we can imagine here on earth. I shared with her how we felt about Sophie. How before we had her, we were happy. But having her has opened this whole new dimension of joy for us. That's how I think heaven will be - capacity for joy beyond anything we can comprehend right now.

What must dogs think of humans?

Today as I came home from running a multitude of errands, I saw a man walking his dog. Actually he wasn't walking the dog, he was waiting for the dog to finish its business. Then the man bent over and picked up the dogs business with a plastic bag...

I know that the man is being courteous to the neighbors, and I definitely appreciate when pet owner's do not leave their animals messes in my yard. But what must the dog think as it stands there waiting patiently for its owner?