You messed up? We'll help!

This post isn't about any specific behavior of David's.  Rather, it's because of a comment someone made to me recently. 

A little background:  We have two dogs.  Zeus, a champagne shepherd, is 7 years old.  In the last year, Zeus has had a couple of strokes.  The first stroke left him unable to walk normally.  He staggers like a drunk after a long weekend.  The second stroke has left him partially blind.  Zeus still is a happy dog, but he needs a little extra attention.

Our second dog, Trudie is a schnauzer-yorkie mix. Trudie is fourteen years old.  Trudie came to live with us just a couple of months ago when her human had a stroke, ended up in the hospital and then in a nursing home.  Because of Trudie's age, she has a lot of "accidents," and thus, wears a diaper.  She also has an eye that just gunks all the time and requires cleaning several times a day.

We have three cats.  The oldest cat, Lucy, is about ten years old.  Lucy has no difficulties, she's just demanding and wants constant attention. 

Ditto is our second cat. Ditto is about seven years old and has a TON of attitude.  She's downright mean if she doesn't like you, and she really doesn't like anyone except me and Rich, and there are times she doesn't like us either. 

Cleo is our third cat.  Cleo is also about seven years old.  Cleo is very schizoid.  She wants attention, but she's afraid of everything. She also doesn't groom herself very well and often needs assistance to get the mats out of her fur. That is challenging because she doesn't like to be held.

Of course, if you've read this blog at all, you know that David has his quirks and habits that make life more interesting.  I'm not going to divulge all of my or Rich's weaknesses or unique personality traits.

So, we are a house full of misfits and challenges.  A friend recently commented to me that she felt like we are always taking care of someone or something.  I laughed with her, but I've since thought about it a lot.  On Sunday, our pastor made a comment about how Jesus was a servant and every person He met He looked for ways to help that person.  I would like to think that we do the same thing. Yes, we take care of our pets that have special needs, and we do it happily - we love our pets.  We take care of David and his special needs, and we do it happily - we love David very much.

The question is, do we look for others who have special needs to help them?  Do we look for the people with broken hearts to offer them the comfort Jesus can offer?  Do we look for the people with anger and loneliness and offer them the never-ending presence of a calming Christ?  Do we look for the people who exhibit behavior that chases people away and show them the unconditional love of a Saviour? 

We are not perfect and we don't always want to get involved in the hurts of others.  It takes a lot of work and effort, and it's exhausting.  But we realize how much has been given to us and how much we owe to those who took the time to help "fix" us when we were broken and didn't even realize it.

So, we are going to continue offering the help we can give through the Master Fixer, Jesus Christ.  There is nothing He can not fix and make better.  We promise.