God sends missionaries with interesting cover stories. Sometimes they do their best work because people don’t recognize them as God’s emissaries.
God sent one to earth about ten years ago. He was little and quite innocent looking. But he already understood the mission. Give unfailing love in every circumstance, just like his Father God.
I did mention he came from God incognito. If I had been looking closer, I would have figured it out. GOD spelled backwards … dog.
On earth he was called Bronx. His home base was with our daughter, son in law and grandson.
From the beginning, he was the love puppy. He never saw a stranger. He never judged anyone. We often joked that if someone broke in, their main danger would be possibly being licked to death and choking on all the love dumped on them.
Initially Bronx just had our daughter and son in law to supervise. Then a baby was added. Bronx became his little shadow as that baby grew into a little boy.
Then Bronx’s territory expanded. He was put in charge of two sisters. Bronx dutifully trained them in the quirks of the residents and the best ways to get treats when they wanted them. Bronx became the leader of the pack.
Bronx loved his family. He was at their side for every up and down. No matter what was happening, Bronx was the great equalizer, always ready to give love and lapping up any love that came his way.
Then came perhaps his toughest assignment. The grandma. Yes, that’s me. Time for a little revelation. Don’t judge me. Stay with me for the end of the story.
I once did not like dogs. When I was growing up, we did not have pets. I did not feel deprived. I had a wonderful childhood … except for the dog down the street, who chased me every time I rode my bike that way.
After I grew up, I became a cat person. By the time of the unexpected pregnancy of the cat I did not get fixed fast enough, I had had a total of ten cats … no dogs. The line was pretty clear.
When our daughter and her family moved right up the road from us, we were excited. The prospect of frequent visits was wonderful. Then she arrived with the dog.
I could not imagine a dog in my house. I told her sweetly when the dog was with her, we needed to visit on the porch. Bronx was perfectly content with this arrangement, but I think he was already sizing up the place … and me.
No matter how many walls I put up, physically or mentally, Bronx jumped over every one. I went from petting to holding him on my lap. I began to actually enjoy having my face licked (a clear sign of weakness 🙄).
But there was that last barrier for Bronx. Every time I started to go in the front door, he looked at me with pure pity that any human could be so mean as to leave him on the porch.
Like the grinch at Christmas, I felt an uncharacteristic warming of my heart. Our initial visits were in the summer, but then it got cold. My heart broke. I could not have a frozen puppy on my porch.
Bronx smiled as he gleefully trotted through the front door and settled into the couch as if he owned the place. He was welcomed from that day forward.
And yes, whatever sprinkles of heaven he deposited all over the house worked. Grandma became a dog person!
Some years later, when I was recovering from surgery, our daughter brought Bronx to visit. He jumped up on my bed and immediately started emitting healing love. I actually felt pain leaving my body with every lick and tail wag.
Bronx was pretty much an indoor dog, but recently he was part of the great family travel adventure. He, like our grandson, saw the ocean for the first time. As I look back on the videos now, I see what I did not see then.
Like the tiny waves are made to return to the ocean, so Bronx was made for a purpose far beyond his tiny body. And so today, Bronx went Home to receive his next assignment. This Mission accomplished. Lots of love left on earth, including converting one grandma.
We will see you again one day, sweet boy. Looking forward to the licks and tail wags again. And maybe we will speak the same language and we can reminisce about your time on earth!😘
Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!
Hebrews 13:2
