Pal

"Pal"
Charcoal on paper.

As I laid in bed this morning I could hear my neighbor's Labrador Retriever calling me. He has a special bark just for me. It's a low, soft, sultry bark and on some days I can almost make out the sound of my name, "Jenn".

As I laid in bed this morning listening I realized he was the only one calling for me. The realization sunk in and it sunk in deep and if I laid there long enough I could have let that realization really bother me to the core, but then I realized that I was lucky to have someone, even if it were only a dog, calling and waiting for me.

He waits for me all day. He sits on his porch watching for me and runs full speed when he sees me. He dashes to his kitchen door and begs to be let out when he hears my backdoor open. He is always there. He never fails to give me long kisses with the most loving look in his eyes when we do meet. It's on the tip of my tongue to say he is a reincarnated soul. If strangers come near my home he goes ballistic. I feel badly for our mailman. He has yet to deliver mail to my house without getting a loud earful from Pal.

As I took in my kisses from him this morning I could tell he knew I was not only greatly under the weather, but that I came to him this morning with a heavy heart. Somehow he just knew and he acted accordingly and gave extra long kisses. He just stared into my eyes trying to reassure me that whatever was bothering me wasn't anything to be bothered about and even if it was that all comes out in the wash and DOES make sense in the end. He was also reminding me that like my favorite and most beautiful verse in the Bible (1 Corinthians 14:7) love is patient and love is kind. There is never a day that goes by that he doesn't wait patiently for me. And there isn't a day that goes by that he isn't' kind when I do finally arrive no matter how long I take.

Perhaps this is why God gave us animals. He gave them in order to reassure, remind and comfort. Be patient and never waver from being kind.