Look up

I was drawn to pray for a stranger today. A woman in my coton de tulear (the breed of my dog) Facebook group was in tears, her dog was gravely ill, and she was fearing the medication wouldn't work. She couldn't stop crying and quite honestly, I could relate, remembering a few years back praying over my own sick dog, face streaming in tears. 

I left her a comment, assuring her that I would pray, and then I did just that. It wasn't just any prayer this time. As I stopped to pray, I thanked God for allowing us to bring any and all troubles to Him- floods of mass destruction, kidnapping of hundreds of innocent girls, marital troubles of couples I know, health troubles in my family, mothers saying goodbye at graduations, memorial weekend grave visiting, families who've lost their young children, people with serious illness or just being affected by any illness, financial strain, and even sick puppies... Thank you God, for loving us through it all. For your mercy. For knowing we can never ask you for too much because your grace is endless and you want to shower us with blessings. And thank you that sometimes when I am weary and all I can say is "Help me", it's enough for you because you know exactly what I need before I could say it anyway. Today I said it- "help me"- and this is what You said... 

If that's not an answer, I don't know what is. It brought tears to my eyes. God loves me and He is with me. He even gave me a bonus. Shortly after I took this picture, my sweet dog, (aptly named Angel) without my prompting hopped on my lap and washed my face in kisses! 

Pray without ceasing. And wait for His voice. Sometimes it's not an answer, but it's a message, and it's always going to be a good one. I don't know what made me look up at just that moment, although I always have my eyes on the sky, but it was so windy today, and seconds later those clouds had already moved.

 I want to believe that heart in the blue sky was God's way of telling me He loves me and everything is going to be okay. 

Know why? Because He does and because it is. Don't forget to look up. You never know what you're missing.