Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Finding Comfort

I have this neighbor, S, and she is great. She is funny, smart, and kind. S does not have any family that lives close by, and the family that she does have is not supportive of her at all. She is in her late 40's, divorced several times, and had some pretty rough history. She works hard to keep herself in a lifestyle that she likes.
S has these 2 dogs. She calls them her children. She loves those dogs with every fiber of her being. When the dogs hurt, she hurts. When they whine, its like her world is going to end. She loves them so much. She tells me about all they do together. She tells me they smile at her, they sing for her, and they talk to her. Hmmmm, I have to call bologna on that one, but hey, it each his own right. Who am I to judge? I have a dog and I love him, but I do talk to him like he is a person, but at the end of the day, I realize he is just a dog and not a human.

One of her dogs has cancer. He has a huge tumor growing near his hip, and he is in quite a bit of pain. His legs shake, he has no control over his bladder, and his skin is flaking off. The dog needs to be put down. The vet has told her this, her friends, and her family. But she can't put the dog down. One day she was crying to me in the parking lot (again) and I found myself getting really frustrated with her. She gripes about how she can't sleep at night because she is worried about money and the dog. She has spent thousands of dollars on this dog in the past 3 months. As she cried on my shoulder I found it harder and harder to give her comfort. All I really wanted to do was tell it to her straight, and have a little come to Jesus meeting with her. As she cried, I tried to figure out where my frustration was coming from, and why I had so little compassion.
Finally, I realized that she cannot put her dog down because that is where she finds her acceptance and her comfort. Suddenly, my frustration melted away and I understood her pain. I began to analyze what I would do if I were in her shoes.
I began to ask myself, where do I get my comfort? Where does my acceptance come from? Ideally, I want to say the Lord. I want to say that He is my source of comfort above all else, and that He is the one who I look to.
To be completely honest, I know that I cannot say that without a doubt. I get a lot of my comfort from P, my parents, and my friends. I look to them to fill me up when I am running low. There is nothing wrong with that, but I need my first priority, the first one I go to, the first one I run to to be the Lord. That is my prayer. That I continue to fall more and more in love with God. That He and He alone be the source of my comfort and my joy. For the next few weeks before Easter, this is going to be my prayer and my meditation.
Where do you find comforts from?

8 comments:

lesley: the dream tree said...

I am like you. I find comfort from Eric & my family, however I wish it was from God, too. He needs to be first and I don't have my priorities right, I guess. That's a good prayer to have before Easter. I hope you succeed (:

~Carla~ said...

Loved this post, Allison... God brings me peace & when I'm feeling lost or need direction, I seek Him first. Every night before I go to bed I listen to a devotional, (I really like the Delve podcasts) but would like to start my day with Bible reading as well, and stick with it. It's a great way to start, and finish my day.

Denise said...

hmmmm, I had some nightmares and racing thoughts two nights ago - I actually surprised myself my praying right from the get go. Can I just say - it works too!!

p.s. - the nightmares I am pretty sure were from seeing The Hunger Games

I do know I need to pray more often and not just when I am in need either.

ERIKA said...

I find comfort in my family, boyfriend, friends, and surprisingly myself. I need to start going back to church but I do pray often. God used to be a huge part of my life and this is a good reminder to get back to that.

Brooke said...

sadly, i think i get comfort from my running. too much of my self worth is tied up in race performance and not enough in God.

Well Heeled Blog said...

I'm sorry to hear about your friend and her dog. My mom's best friend's German pointer passed away from cancer (he was put down). For a week before that, she bought hamburger patties from Costco and just fed him every day. He seemed to have gone a happy dog.

Your friend might get comfort from the dog, but it's not fair to the dog to be suffering so much. I hope she makes the hard decision that she needs to make soon.

Holly said...

Hey! Just read your post on Michelle P's page! Thanks for posting your story! A friend let me borrow one of Dave Ramsey's books and that's when the whole "financial planning" came into focus for me. It still sometimes is a struggle not spending a few dollars here or there on little items, but Dave Ramsey's plan really has worked for us! Me and my hub are now six months into our Total Money Makeover and it's going well so far! Thanks for your post. I'm going to subscribe to you now!

Holly said...

Wow. I feel like a jerk. I should have read your post first before posting on here. I don't know how to delete my comment either to move it to a different post. I apologize sincerely for being rude.

I'm really sorry to hear about your neighbor's dog. We love our dog so very much too and it would be absolutely devastating if we found out our dog had cancer. This makes me upset to read and I really feel like a jerk for not reading your post first before I posted my previous comment.

I agree that I find my comfort in The LORD, I'm working on developing a devoted prayer life right now and speaking with Him often. Mainly, learning to listen and hear His voice and leading. Also I find comfort in my husband, dear friends, family, and our sweet pets.

We will keep her, her pup, and you in our prayers. I apologize again for being rude and posting before I read your post. Please forgive me.