"Cats, Puppies, and Friends"

Dear Bloggers and Blog Readers,



About a year and a half ago, I became very interested in the idea of getting a puppy. I was "Online Puppy Shopping", researching types of dogs, thinking about moving to a house with a fenced-in backyard, etc., etc. Since then, I have moved to a house with a fenced-in backyard, and (ironically) brought my cat from my parents' house to live with us instead. I would still like to have a dog someday, but our cat is a little crazy, and I feel strongly that she could seriously injure most dogs. My friend Jessica loves to bring home stray dogs that she finds. I think it's pretty awesome, and I'm a little jealous. I love how dogs ADORE their owners and follow them around everywhere. My cat, Dottie, sort of does this too.

Last night, for example, she woke me up every couple of hours meowing and scratching at things in order to wake me up. I have no idea what is wrong with her. She sort of reminds me of a crying baby or a mischievous toddler who acts out for attention. My husband, unfortunately, does not take kindly to this. Although, he does say that her "One redeeming quality" is that she is the "Single Softest Living Thing on the Planet." It is because of this that every night before bed he lets her cuddle with him and sleep on top of him for awhile. She is a mess. She hisses at most of our friends out of fear, and once she actually scratched one of our friends in the face for getting too close. Her real problem (I have deciphered after many psychology classes) is that when it comes to the "Fight or Flight" conundrum, she has no "Flight reflex," she is a fighter.

Sometimes I think that Dottie and I have similar issues when it comes to making friends. We really do like people, but sometimes we have trouble letting people in. We are afraid of people because we don't trust them yet, and we need to get to know them better. I sometimes think that I am a terrible friend, but I don't know why. I know that I have trouble letting people in, and that I am probably more judgmental and impatient than I should be.

I've realized that when I thought that I really needed a dog, what I really needed was friends. This probably sounds pretty sad and pathetic, but 2 years ago Josh and I moved to Melbourne. For the first time in over 4 years, we were moving to a new place....away from the college we went to, away from all of our college friends, and trying to start new. It was really difficult for awhile. Even though we had our work friends and we had people in our congregation that were very friendly....it just wasn't the same.

Then, about a year ago, I started to develop some more REAL friendships. Our preacher's daughter and son-in-law moved locally, and we started getting to know them better. Me and a couple of girls in my office became closer. I was even asked to be in someone's wedding. A girl who I knew in college, but never was very close to, moved back and starting working with me. I knew right away that we would hit it off. Then, a guy from South Carolina moved down and started coming to our church. It's amazing how God puts the puzzle pieces together in your life. He really always knows exactly what we need, but sometimes it doesn't happen as quickly as we would like.

I wouldn't trade this last year for anything, despite the bad times, the commuting, and the stress. God knew exactly what I needed, and I feel like I'm in a really great place right now.

John 1: 43-46, "The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow Me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "COME and SEE," said Philip.