We Need More - Lenten Devotional 8

...He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV)

In my last post, I talked about God missing in our lives, or well, us not paying attention to him as long as things are going well. Sometimes we get caught up in the every day routine and fail to see there is more. There should be more. 

Last summer, we decided to get a family dog. After researching different breeds of dogs and searching on the local shelter's Facebook page, we narrowed it down to three dogs on the available list. On a Friday, I went by and previewed the dogs. The next day, the girls and I went back. My first choice had been adopted since the day before. My second choice just didn't click with us after a short visitation. Then came the third and final choice. Ridley the cocker spaniel. Ridley was in a pen with a very large Husky and looked pretty sad. We decided to take him out into the yard for a short visit. As he ran around the shelter's yard, one of my girls said that he looked more like a Henry than a Ridley (which is the name of a street downtown), and called him Henry. He turned and came right back to us with such a look of joy on his face. We knew he was the one. 

Many of my friends and family know the story if how we came to find Henry and a few know what I found out shortly after getting him. Once we got him, I couldn't stop talking about it and posting pictures. To make a long story short, a friend was sharing with another of her friends of Henry's adoption. That friend was affiliated with the shelter and knew our dog. He had been there for over a month and day by day seemed to get more depressed. The staff and volunteers do well to take care of the animals, meeting their physical needs, but it is not possible to provide the full attention to each like they deserve and crave. They need more.

I share this story to say that we as humans cannot just get by with our physical and even material "needs" being met. We need more. We need to feel the love of others. We need to feel the love of Christ.

Seeking a relationship with Jesus is the way to experience such love. Fortunately, we don't have to sit behind a fence waiting for the love to come to us like Ridley did. We can reach out and enjoy it right now. Through an act of love, Ridley transformed into a happy and much loved Henry. We too can be transformed by the love of God.

To follow Henry's adventures more, visit his blog at http://henrythecockerspaniel.blogspot.com/