Oh, Rudy!

"Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever
makes haste with his feet misses his way.
Proverbs 18:12

"Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom in the future."
Proverbs 18:20

When my youngest daughter was in high school we would often go around to the pet store that was in a nearby shopping center. We both loved dogs, and they just had the cutest puppies! One day when we were there drooling over the cute little things, the pet store owner said, "That little pup is blind in one eye and we can't sell him. If you would like to have him you may take him home."

Being the submissive wife and daughter that we were, we said we must first ask the man of the house. We hurried home and told him the great news--a free puppy!

He said, "No!"

No? But why?
It's free!

He explained that

1. We already had a dog--a quite large one, a Golden Retriever--in our not-so-big backyard.
2. We didn't need the extra care that a puppy brings.
3. He didn't want another dog.
4. Etc., etc., etc.

Well, none of those excuses seemed to work for us, so we

1. Explained how we would care for him diligently.
2. Begged
3. Pleaded.
4. Etc., etc., etc.

Finally, worn to a frazzle, he said,
"Do what you like, but this dog is not my responsibility."

Daddy said, "Yes!" (Really?)

We got the dog. Our desire was fulfilled! We made haste with our feet and brought him home. Oh, he was so cute. We named him Rudy.

Rudy! How adorable!

We LOVED that dog.

For awhile.
Not a very long while.

He was hyper, aggressive, messy, didn't give our precious, good, well-trained Golden Retriever room to breathe. I could go on, but you get the picture. This dog turned into an albatross hanging around MY NECK. My daughter went off to college that fall. And he wasn't my husband's responsibility.

At first opportunity (well, I guess it wasn't first opportunity!) I listened to advice and accepted instruction (after a hard lesson learned) and gained wisdom for the future.

We gave him away.

This was a lesson not-so-severe. I'm thankful for that little lesson, and I pray that the Lord will give me wisdom in the future to do these things:

1. Hold desire at bay until I have knowledge about a thing.
2. Slow down in my decision making so that I don't miss my way.
3. Listen to advice and accept instruction.
4. Seek to gain wisdom before making a move.

Isn't God good to give us His wisdom?

Seeking it together,
Gloria