Recovery in the Bible (RIB)

MY DOG WORKS FOR GOD

Through my years in recovery, I have learned to use spiritual senses rather than my old, broken, natural ones. It has sometimes been challenging to share what I discern because I often see things that cannot be seen any other way. In the fellowship, we tell each other  that “This is a spiritual program, not a religious one,” and, for me, that distinction has been a life-saver. I would like to offer yet another “word picture” here to explain what on earth I am trying to share.

First, picture: a DOG -- any DOG. Your neighbor’s DOG, your favorite DOG, your last dog. Then think about the devotion and the faithfulness of that creature -- how it would do anything for its owner, suffering when apart, exuberant when reunited. For me, it was no coincidence to note that DOG was GOD spelled backwards. And not a far leap from that to the realization that my DOG had been working for GOD the whole time, even beyond the heart-breaking moment when he died in my arms.

How much that dog showed me -- not from viewpoints that are merely oral or verbal or measurable, not from the use of logic, not from intellectual prowess or some rational explanation. What he showed me was love. Unconditional love. Something I had not experienced so lavishly until I had that DOG.

Now I know how to rest in that, understanding that GOD is a lot like that -- sweetly with me, no matter what. He has softened my heart and I trust Him to hear my slightest whimper, to run even if I can only squeak to another like I was once, bleating and stranded on a dangerous ledge. Now I know that GOD is a retriever -- an excellent retriever. He will retrieve the lost and the blind, the frightened and the fierce. For Him, they are not too hard to find.

This photograph was posted on Facebook in the years I had Roobie at my side (or should I say, when I was at HER side)!