This week we said good-bye to Peanut, a long-haired Dachshund we looked after for the last five weeks. Mrs. Long brought Peanut for Show & Tell, so many of the students got to meet her. I used Peanut as an illustration of drawing near when the students sang Nearer My God to Thee. Peanut would snuggle close to Mrs. Long at bedtime.

Having a dog at home got me thinking about God’s love for us being greater than my love and care for Peanut, and how it seems my love and excitement for God is less than Peanuts for me. Do I long to run up to Jesus each time I see Him and lick His face while trying not to wet myself? Do I collapse exhausted at Jesus’s feet after playing fetch? What kind of spiritual blinders must I have on not to exhibit greater enthrallment and joy than Peanut did for a temporary care giver?

They say a long-haired Dachshund is so attached to its’ family that the family is the most important thing in its’ life. Is the Family of God something I am so attached to that everything else pales in comparison? I am glad God let us care for Peanut in order to help me re-orientate my affections.