Lesson Learned from Dog Poo

Two years ago, Ethan's dog Duke was hit by a truck and killed. He was heart broken. We were in the process of selling our house and moving into rental property while we built or bought the next house. Because of this, we waited on getting another dog. When we found a place to rent, we had to sign a no pet policy. I told Ethan that after we had been there for a little while, I would talk to the landlords about us getting a pet.

Two days after moving in, a stray dog wandered up. She was nearly starved to death, and covered with fleas and ticks. I am quite certain that had we not taken pity on her, she would have died shortly. We fed her and cleaned her up. She appears to be a rat terrier, and looked liked someones pet. We called around to see if someone had lost her. I explained the situation with to the landlord, and she said for us to keep the dog if we wanted. God gave us a dog. We have had Prissy Missy for two years now.

At first, we kept her outside. I wasn't thrilled about having a house dog. However, as the weather got cold, I was the one to bring her inside. I have never made her go back to being an outside dog. She is really a precious dog, and a good watch dog. She is quick to alert us when a stranger approaches. And, here is the best part, we never had to house break her. I decided that when God gives you a dog, He takes care of the training as well. She rarely has accidents in the house... please notice I did not say never...

Last night, Erin woke me up to tell me she was going to the bathroom. As I waited in the hall for her, Ethan said something to me. I stepped toward his room to speak to him, and stepped in dog poo!!! Yuck!!!!!

First, I cleaned my foot. Then I cleaned the hall. Then I scrubbed my hands and foot again. Everything was cleaned up before heading back to bed. However, as I was getting back in bed I was thinking, "I hope I don't still have poo on my foot that I am getting on my sheets." Even after getting in bed, I still kept thinking about having poo on my foot. It was grossing me out. (As I am sure this subject is doing to you now!)

As I lay there, I realized that that is exactly what we do with sin in our life. We confess it to God, receive his cleansing, but still dwell on how unclean we are. The truth is we are clean! If we continue to dwell on it, we are allowing Satan to rob us of the gift that God has already given us. So, the next time you are worried about the "poo" of sin still being on you, remember what God's word says in 1 John 1:9. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."