Gratitude...and trust

       Just came across these photos of our sweet old Moses from last summer.  This is how he loved to sleep: relaxed on his back (which he must have heard is supposed to be better for the prevention of wrinkles--he was such a wise old soul)--

     Then this photo while sitting in his favorite place--the sun--with one of his favorite people--any member of our family--

       And all I could think was "Thank You, Father."  Thank You for the gift of a dear old dog, of precious memories, of love given and love received, and simply of life lived fully with family and friends...and dogs!
      My sister--in-law and brother-in-law just recently lost their sweet, very old dog, Callie.  Oh my, we well remember that unique and piercing sorrow of letting go of a beloved, faithful companion who loved unconditionally and well.  And it also reminded me once again of both the terrible cost of sin--death, separation, grief--and the tremendous, staggering gift of salvation.  Redemption, grace, forgiveness, joy, peace...and eternal life.
     The unfathomable gift of eternal life now, for this very hour in our daily lives, but also the certain glorious hope of heaven in the future.  Think of some of the best of moments on this earth--eating dinner with dear friends and family, laughing uproariously, hearing a magnificent song, glimpsing God's glory in His spectacular creation, patting your dog, smelling the warm scents of honeysuckle or freshly cut grass or gardenias, enjoying the crimson beauty of a cardinal, reading a great book, wading in an ice-cold trout stream with your family...oh so many glorious moments!
     Yet they all pale in comparison to the wonder and glory ahead.  Can we begin to comprehend that?  I know I can't...but when I catch even a whiff, it sure changes my perspective on these "light and momentary troubles" that "are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (2 Cor.4:17)  Sometimes we just need to be reminded--this world, with it's moments of amazing joy but also heartbreak and disappointment, is not our home.  We're just passing through...and the best really is still to come.
     I love how Randy Alcorn put it: "Eternal life means enjoying forever the finest moments of  life on Earth the way they were intended.  Since in Heaven, we'll finally experience life at its best, it would be more accurate to call our present existence beforelife rather than to call what follows the afterlife."  Love that!  We're living the beforelife...but, my oh my, the glorious real and true life is up ahead.
      So thank You, Father, for the gift of each of our days on this planet.  Thank You for relentlessly giving us so many gifts along the way--gifts of moments, of loved ones...and yes, of dogs.  Funny, but God gave us Bingley who seems to favor his older "brother" in uncanny ways.  Here's how he loves to sleep (no wrinkles on this puppy)--

And here are just a couple of the people he adores--

     Thank You, Father.   Thank You for our past, our present...and our future.  Give us hearts full of gratitude for what we have and trust for what's ahead...whatever it might be.
      Or as Dag Hammarskjold put it: "For all that has been, Thank You.  For all that is to come, Yes!"         To God be the glory.