26 1 / 2012
Lesson 1: Accepting Gifts
We all receive gifts at some point in our lives, whatever form it may come in. After you receive the gift, you need to accept it into your life as being part of you, something you’re responsible for. Even at 24 years of age, the reaction to getting a puppy never changes. Here’s the very first picture taken of Zoey and I when I took her home.
I had a puppy. How much fun was that?
I found out soon after that she needed more care than I had anticipated. Zoey was already worrying me when she was throwing up and had constantly wet stool, to add to it, she always arched her back like a cat. As a puppy with all these issues, Zoey took it without a hitch.
Yes, she was my gift, but even my parents wondered with all the veterinary bills, and the constant crying each time the complications got worse… would I be able to still see her as such?
The truth was, her amazing spirit outdid her poor health. She remained positive, she was my little survivor.
Watching her grow up was such a joy, seeing her being silly and playing with Ross. How she would fight for my attention, and take “mommy’s girl” to new heights.
It’s true when they say that when your dog greets you when you come home, it makes you feel like the luckiest person on earth. Zoey would scold me when I left her too long, and would try to find anyway she could inside my car so she could come along on trips. Suddenly, traveling lost its luster and Zoey was the apple of my eye.
She always seemed to understand me, when I would cry she would comfort me. When I was happy, she would take it as time to play. She was beyond fetch and tricks, she would react based on how I was feeling.
I remember I would say to her, “What a gift you are, little Zoey.” And she would look at me with those adoring eyes.
I’m glad I took so many pictures, that I spoke about her all the time. She was in my BBM, Twitter & Facebook statuses constantly.
Sure, we ended up in the hospital a lot, but I would always see how much she would spark up when I entered the room. She never wanted me to know she was sick. She was always there to comfort me and tell me that she was okay.
Sometimes the burden did get to me, and the first year we were together I was still struggling with being able to support all of it. But, I looked at her and realized that she had to be taken cared of, that all this love and joy she gave me was nothing in comparison to it.
Somehow, God always made it work. I was always able to pay for her vet bills.
People questioned why I spent so much time and effort on her, but giving up wasn’t an option.
Gifts don’t necessarily always come in the way we want them to, sometimes they seem almost troublesome or tiring. But everything, even our hardship is a lesson from God. He wants us to trust him, and to do that we have to accept whatever comes our way.
Zoey was hospitalized numerous times, and I cherished every moment with her. She got better, and without that struggle I don’t think I’d be viewing the trouble I face now the same way. I used to give up, I used to only want the best of something, but to accept it was a whole other lesson that took Zoey a year and a half to get me to understand.
You accept what God gives you, and you accept it with open arms.
Zoey is one of the greatest gifts God has ever given me, she was meant to be in my life. During the last few days with her, I was listening to a podcast - and our pastor spoke about “Zoey” meaning the quality of life… I didn’t even know her name meant this.
How ironic, her being sick and actually not physically having a good quality of life.
But she remained happy, and so generous with herself, giving what she could to me. Zoey gave me everything, and never held back. She lived because she loved, she lived up to the name God gave her.
Her gift was the quality of life, my life.
