Father knows: Lessons from Ari

Remember this from last week? I mentioned in the previous post that as I listened to Ari bang on the bell repeatedly that I thought of two lessons. The first was on persistence and the second, which I'll share on today, is about our Father. For all intents and purposes, I am Ari's mommy. So much so, that the neighbor's kid, who is about 5 years old, calls me "Ari mommy" whenever she wants to get my attention but cannot remember my name. Yes it is very cute...she literally screams across the fence "Hello Ari mommy, can I play with Ari today please?". :)

 Now back to the story, if you recall, this bell ringing was occuring a little before 5am and I refused to get up. I eventually fell back asleep and at some point Ari must have stopped banging on the bell because when I woke up, he was curled in one of his favorite positions just chillin. Now the thing is, I know my dog. I know that he can wait. I know that he won't have an accident unless he is sick or had an exorbitant amount of water or food during the night. And truth be told, even in the latter scenario, it is unlikely for an accident. He's a big dog now. ;) Of course, this story read differently about 1.5 years ago when we were still in the midst of housebreaking.

 Unfortunately, this isn't to suggest that we haven't had accidents. We have ignored him and the bell once or twice since he's been housebroken, only to find the "reward" of our lazyness in some corner of the apartment. Those were definitely not cool lessons.

 But unlike me, our heavenly Father is perfect. He knows us perfectly. He knows our limits. He won't make mistakes. His provision and His answer will always be on time. He will not allow us to be stretched beyond our limits, to the point that we have an accident and make a mess. Of course, sometimes, messes happen but if we fairly asses the situation, this is usually because we were disobedient. What I failed to mention about Ari and "accidents" (and this is a bit gross) is that from time-to-time, actually more often than I care to admit, he eats something he shouldn't have eaten and ends up vomiting in the house because his stomach can't take it. There is nothing I could have done to avoid him vomiting due to ingestion of foreign substances. That is totally on him. However, I try my hardest to monitor his needs and ensure that I provide for each one in a timely manner. I (we) are all he has. We are his source.

We are like Ari in more ways than we may realize. We persist in prayer, we bang on our chests..we bombard heaven for a response, a provision...and sometimes it seems that we are being ignored. But we aren't. We should recognize and accept this truth and avoid finding alternatives or substitutes while we "wait on God". It inevitably will cause an accident that makes a mess and makes us feel a mess.

The truth is: God sees, He hears and in perfect timing, He will respond. Know that. So today, trust God and his perfect plan for your life.

Grace peace and love,
Gia