Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome to Coffee Hour! Grab your coffee, your strand of faith and maybe even your four-legged friend, and come in and enjoy Jennifer’s blog. You never know; you may be able to teach your dog a new trick as well as tie a knot in your strand of faith! I do know you are going to enjoy how she brings this back to our hearts!

My dog Logan has a new trick.  He will stride into my office, nudge me, and then drape his body over mine while I am sitting at my desk.  Occasionally he will give me a little kiss.  When he first did it I thought he just missed me and wanted to cuddle until I discovered an “accident” on the rug.  He has exhibited this behavior a few times, enough for me to understand that this is his way of letting me know that he messed up and is sorry.

I researched, “Can dogs feel regret” and discovered that they can, along with other more complex emotions.  Regret is defined as knowing you have missed an opportunity.  In Logan’s case, he knew he missed the opportunity to do the right thing and wanted to let me know.  He doesn’t carry the weight of his actions around with him after he is forgiven.  As a dog, he is not that complex.  He only feels the guilt of his actions when I point it out to him as I am cleaning His “mistake” up.

One of the definitions of forgiven is to give up all claim on account of.  Isn’t that why the Father sent His son?  We are forgiven.  We can walk through life free of our past mistakes – we can learn to not remind ourselves of them.  We are imperfect; we will veer off course and sometimes make bad decisions.  We can regret the opportunities we have let slip by but let that be fleeting and used to correct our course, not dictate our self-worth.

How many times have we messed up?  Not on the rug, of course, but in our lives.  Sometimes I think that we forget that all we have to do in our relationships, especially with our Father, is to say, “I know I messed up today; I am so sorry.  I know you still love me.”  I guarantee Logan knows this. He is secure in his place in the pack….why can’t we be that secure of our place in our Father’s heart?

Forgiven,

Jennifer & Logan