“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:11-12 NIV)
We have a saying in our house that goes, “It’s good to be loved.” It was inspired years ago by the wonderful love that our dogs show us everyday. I find myself thinking it first thing in the morning when the alarm goes off and I find a huge Saint Bernard head resting on the side of my bed waiting for its jowls to be scratched. I find myself saying it when my littlest dog whose belly is only a few inches off the ground still manages to jump up on my chair, climb up my chest, and lick my chin a hundred times. I find myself whispering it when my oldest dog who would be past eighty if he were human slowly gets up and walks across the room just so he can be petted and curl up at my feet. I find myself laughing about it when I see my daughter’s young dog perched on the back of the couch like a squirrel watching out the window and waiting for her to get home. I find myself smiling about it when I go to feed my big, watch dog only to find him ignoring the food and cuddling up to my legs instead. I find myself thanking God for that love every chance I can and taking joy in that love every single day.
Each and everyday these five dogs show me just how good it is to be loved. Each and everyday these five dogs show me just how great it is to love. I am sure too that God put dogs here on this world to teach us just that. If everyone on this world were to love each other as unconditionally as our dogs love us then Earth would seem a whole lot more like Heaven.
It is good to be loved, but it is even better to love. My furry angels sent from God show me this every single day. May we all one day learn to love as freely, faithfully, and unconditionally as they do. May we all one day learn the lessons in joy, sweetness, playfulness, and happiness that they teach. May we all one day learn to live our lives as well as our dogs live theirs.
Joseph J. Mazzella