Why Do Dogs Leave Earth First?

I came across this story on my Twitter one day and I would like to share it with you all. 

Why Do Dogs Leave Earth First? 

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a 10 year old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owner, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found that he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything more for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. 

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for 6 year old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience. 

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. The young boy, Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a long while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. 

Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try to live. 

He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The 6 year old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reflecting on this story, whether it's real or not, still has an impact on my life. Why can't we love like dogs? As silly as that sounds, shouldn't we love on people all the time and be nice to all that we see and come in contact with? Isn't it crazy to think that dogs leave this world early because they have succeeded in their mission in loving unconditionally? But as for us people, it takes us a lifetime to love people. It's a harsh truth but some people don't achieve that goal. It's ridiculous even thinking about it. 

So how can we live the "good life" that Shane is talking about in the story? Love the people of this world with a love that is unimaginable. Show them the deepness and fullness of God's love. 

"We love, because He first loved us." - 1 John 4:19 

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us." - Ephesians 5:1-2 

"And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us." - 1 John 3:23

Advice For A Good Life by Carl Elliott Sr.

1. Have compassion for the poor. 

2. Educate the ignorant. 

3. Feed the hungry. 

4. Guide those who've lost their way. 

5. Don't kick a person who's down. 

6. Heal the wounded. 

7. Love those who are least lovable. They need it most. 

8. Warm the cold. 

9. Wash the dirty. 

10. Water the thirsty.

7 Ways on How I Live My Life

So my life is nothing but good. I have so many reasons to be happy considering that I have God, amazing friends, and so many things going for me. However, the reason I’m the way I am is because I live my life on numerous concepts and perspectives and I would like to share them with you. 

1. God is #1. Friends and others are #2. I am #3. God will always have priority in my life. In everything I say, everything I think, and everything I do, I make sure that it is pleasing to God and that I may glorify Him through the person I am and that others may feel or see His presence through me. Don’t be concerned about your own self and trying to satisfy your needs and wants, instead, focus on the people around you who might need help or even just a nudge to keep their head up. The reward in serving others is that you are serving God as well. Be a selfless person and pour out your love and life for all the people of this world. Everyone is deserving of love and it takes just one act of love to brighten someone’s day. 

2. Make time for the people you love. I’ve always firmly believed that one of the greatest gifts you can give a person is your time. If you genuinely care about and love a person, then you will make time for them. I do not take the excuse that you are “busy” or that you don’t have time for a person because if you don’t have the time, then MAKE the time. It can be a 3 second text message letting someone know that you love them or you’re thinking of them, you can have a quick 5 minute phone call, or you can even arrange for a small food date during the week. Whatever it may be, do what you can and learn how to organize your schedule so you can fit time for the people that love and care about you just as much. 

3. Don’t be afraid to be courageous and take a leap of faith. This pretty much applies to almost every area of life. You can’t be scared of the unknown or the unexpected. That is what we live for. We do not know what tomorrow holds but hope for the best and prepare for the worst. God has carefully constructed our life plans and be content in knowing that everything coming your way will only make you a stronger and better person. Don’t be scared of rejection from a person. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone you’ve never talked to before. Don’t be afraid to live out your faith or to share God with those around you. If you like someone, then tell them. If you miss someone, then tell them. If you love someone, then tell them. Why in the world would you want to hold yourself back from being who you are and expressing your personal thoughts and feelings? Why would you want to miss out on everything around because you’re afraid? Take a leap of faith and trust God. You can’t experience life if you can’t step out of your comfort zone. Stand strong and have courage. I promise you that being courageous for even a moment can entirely change your life or someone else’s life forever. 

4. Reach out to everyone you can. It doesn’t matter what the person looks like. It doesn’t matter if they are male or female, what race they are, what religion they are, what sexuality they are, what their past is, how they dress, what they like or dislike, or even anything. You reach out to others simply because. I’ve learned in my past 2 mission trips that you don’t need to go to another country or another state to reach out to people. Where you live right now is your mission field. You are no better than the person next to you. Get off your high horse and step down. We are all equal and we are called to be there for one another. There are people around you that are hurting or suffering in silence. There are people out there who have problems that are beyond our own even speculation. There are people who need someone to just even listen to what’s going on. Be the Jesus that someone sees or needs. Extend a helping hand to everyone because you never know who just might need you today. 

5. Pray pray pray. Pray and thank God for all the good in your life. Pray and thank God for all the bad in your life. Communication with God is important because we need to honestly sit down and talk to Him about our life. So many people get mad at God for when things go wrong in their life and simply push God to the side. However, when good things are happening, people all of a sudden love God and just want to praise Him for everything. From my perspective, that’s a pretty bad relationship with God. We owe it to God to pray to Him and to thank him for everything because in every single thing that happens in our life, something good ALWAYS comes out of it. I can promise and guarantee you that. Not only that, there is so much power in prayer. We may not necessarily get what we prayed for, but God gives us in return what we need. He answers our prayers in ways unimaginable. Praying strengthens your relationship with God and it definitely gives you peace of mind knowing that God is at work in your life 24/7. 

6. Don’t be consumed with hate but instead be filled with love. For me, there is not a single bone in my body where I could possibly hate someone or hold a grudge against them. Even though I’ve been hurt by a lot of people and I’ve been mistreated by friends and even strangers, I appreciate them because they have made me a stronger person. I’ve always lived life with the concept that you should be thankful for the people that hurt you because they taught you a lesson to remember and they reminded you that are you stronger than you think because if you weren’t, then you wouldn’t be here today. We become stronger and better people through our trials and pain. Instead of hating all those people in my past, I’ve shown nothing but love. Why show hatred to the people that God so wonderfully created? I know there are bad people in this world and there are people who have strayed far from God’s path but just love them. Some people don’t even know that love is. I just find it to be true that being consumed with hatred and bitterness will only cause you to be tired and will wear down on your heart. Instead, let go of the past and look forward to the future. Fill yourself with love and love on others so that they may forget the hatred and pain in their own hearts. 

7. Always be yourself. Don’t let the influence of other people affect who you are when you’re around your friends or family. Be yourself at all times, not just sometimes. Don’t be a different person at school. Don’t be a different person at church. Don’t be a different person at home. Just be you. You have no one to impress and no one to please except God. Surround yourself with the people and friends that love you and accept you for who you are. You shouldn’t have to change your behaviors or conform to the standards of a group in order to fit in. We are called to stand up and stand out for God. He created you in a way that is nothing short of perfection. Why would you want to change that? Be yourself because no one else can do that.

Lessons On A Spiritual Journey

Throughout my spiritual journey with God, there have been many times where I’ve been overwhelmed with unspeakable joy and there have been times where I’ve just completely lost sight of God and fell into holes of depression. 

During my Senior Year, I don’t think I ever talked to God as much as I did then. I was constantly asking Him for guidance for which college to go to, confidence about upcoming interviews with jobs, a healing hand over the broken hearted, peace of mind to get through the stress, unconditional love to be shown to all my friends, and just everything you could think of. I asked Him for about everything and I thanked him every second I could. What gets me though, is that for everything I asked, I pretty much received it in some form or another. If I am given everything by a Heavenly Father that loves me, should I have any reason to be sad? 

The last 6 years of my life have been nothing but being hurt by a lot of people including friends and family. It’s an ongoing struggle but it has taken me forever to realize that God places people in our life as a mean of teaching a lesson or as blessings. Whatever their purpose may be, they all play a role in the person we are today. It’s crazy to think that we let one person or even one bad thing happen in our day to ruin the happiness we have. Our happiness does not depend upon the people we hang out with, the possessions we have, all the food we eat, or all the parties we go to. This is all a sense of false pleasure. Can you compare the happiness you get from eating a warm Krispy Kreme donut to the joy and love that God gives you when you open your heart to Him? It’s a pretty close call for many but what God is pouring out for us is truly rewarding and far greater than anything of this world. 

So this still doesn’t explain why I’m sad a lot of days even though God is with me and wants me to be nothing but happy.

I guess the reason for me is that I let myself run on empty. I keep giving and giving and going and going and then I’m just left there bare handed with empty pockets, a desolate heart, and a pain that only God knows of. But God knows the intentions of my heart and knows a way to ease my pain. 

I get tired of people who don’t make an effort to make a friendship work. I do everything I can for a person but they can’t even send me a text, give me any attention, or even just a slight amount of time. But God never grows tired of me even when I fail Him daily. 

I don’t tell people how I truly feel. I give people the truth but not all of the truth. I don’t tell people when I need help and I don’t tell people what I’m really feeling at some times. But God gives me the help I need and He knows that I need to be more courageous. 

But do you want to know the real reason as to why I’m not completely happy with life and with God? 

The reason is that I haven’t completely surrendered to God. Throughout the last couple of years in my life, I have been trying to put my faith in action. Every single thing I’ve done is all meant to glorify God and to bring others closer to God. This sounds like a pretty great course of action especially when I put all my heart and soul into it. However, I feel like I haven’t given God everything just yet. There are still parts me of that aren’t fully devoted to God. My prayer life isn’t exactly perfect and I definitely don’t spend much time trying to take God’s word in and apply it to my life. I get so caught up in working my jobs, being there for people, and trying to hang with everyone as much as possible. But the one true person I should be hanging out with more than anything is God. 

I owe much to God and every day I try to find ways in which I can glorify Him and see Him in all areas of my life. Not only that, I’m learning how to let my walls come down so that I can just give Him everything I am. God doesn’t need me, but I need Him. He is the one person that will never fail me or you. He is the one person that loves me and you even when it feels like no one else does. He is a listener, He is a fighter, He is a giver, He is a father, He is a supporter, He is everything that we need and everything we aspire to be. 

So what was my lesson learned? 

God has a way of breaking me down and then building me up and in return molding me into something more. He has a way of making me hit a low point in my life so that I may instead reach an even higher point in my life and in return turn me into something more beautiful. I owe Him my life and I need to surrender everything in me and everything I am in order to live the life He has called me to so that I may find joy in all areas of my life and that I may experience this spiritual journey through loving on others and showing this world that God is everything we need and more.