We got a new pup a few weeks ago. His name is Bauer and he is a Brittany Spaniel.  Captain has adapted well to Bauer and they are getting along better than I had imagined.  I thought Captain might just gobble Bauer up, thinking that this was his new toy to destroy.  But he seems to enjoy his new, little friend.  

I love these dogs.  But what trips me out is how much these dogs love me.  Captain, who by the way has found he enjoys peeing on Bauer’s head, absolutely is beside himself when I come home.  He has separation anxiety when I leave or when I am not around, which is the primary reason we got Bauer.  He screams and howls in complete disarray when he knows I am inside and he is not.  And the moment the back door opens he runs at speeds dogs should not run just to be as close to me as he can.  His routine is to come rub his noes somewhere on me (often times in the last place one would want a dog to be near).  He then shakes a few times to try to outlet some of the overwhelming exuberance flowing within him.  He circles himself and then me and then himself again, and then must shake as quickly and fiercely as possible.  He cannot wait for me to rub his head so he can try to lick as much of my skin as he can before I say, “No Lick, Captain.”  If I drop to the ground, he clammers over me trying to lick my face or just rub his head in my hair.  This dog loves me.  

Seeing this makes me wonder a few things.  I wonder what it would be like to be this excited when spending time with God.  For me to be fully elated when Christ is near me, when I hear him, when I feel him, when I sit in his presence in awe of his majesty.  I want to be that way–altogether crazy in love with Jesus to the point of uncontrollability.  What is even more difficult to understand is the possibility that, not me but, God is like my dog (which is sorta weird because dog is God backwards).  Is it true that Christ is utterly beside himself when he sees me?  That the moment I turn away, he sits at the door staring until I come back?  Does he cry out when I leave or develop extreme anxiety when I am separated from him?  This God of the universe loves me.  And when I turn to him, when I open that door to spend time with him, he becomes completely crazy for me.  He is overwhelmed with excitement, joy, jubilation, and delight, in an almost euphoric expression of praise.

 His delight is in me.  His desire is for me.  

This God loves me.