Where's God When I'm Sccccaaared???

Tonight was momentous for our family. We have been home from Ghana for more than ten months. On rare occasions, my daughter has petted one of our two dogs. For someone who is less than 1/3 the weight of our dogs, it's understandable to be scared. I think I would be, too! Several times, if we had our daughter in a papasan chair, she would let the dogs come into the room to watch a movie or television with us - but she rarely touched our older dog, and wouldn't go near the younger one.

Tonight, we decided to take another step. Our daughter would sit on the couch with a pillow on her lap, and our oldest dog would come in and sit on the couch next to her. We prepped our daughter for what might happen (sniffing, etc.). The dog came in, ate some cookies to distract her, and then promptly sat down and chewed on a bone. She went to see each person in the family, except our daughter, and then went back to the bone. At one point, I got down on the floor next to the dog and started petting her. Our daughter had had enough of her fear; she threw off her blanket and the pillow, and said she was going to pet the dog. And that was the end of her fear. For the rest of the night, she petted, followed around, and annoyed the dog...and now, the dog is sleeping in bed with her upstairs.

We're all afraid of something. Recently, I've been having Facebook and face-to-face conversations with someone who wants to have God in her life, but doesn't know how to ask. She's scared that she'll do it wrong; pray the wrong way; etc. There's no right way to do it. Just like working with our daughter to be with the dogs, you can accomplish the same goal in many different ways. It doesn't matter how you pray; it matters that you pray. It doesn't matter how you ask Jesus into you heart; it matters that you do.

There's great joy in my heart for those who allow fear to escape them, and allow God to dwell in them. In these past few weeks, it's for a young woman who has found God in Jesus Christ. And tonight, it's for my daughter, who knows that with God, anything is possible!