What I Have Learned From My Dog (Part 2)- Loving Unconditionally

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Welcome to part 2 of "What I Have Learned From My Dogs". To read part 1 of the series, click here.

Freckles- Lover of Love

Freckles is our Pitt-bull mix. She is one of the most relaxed, slow-moving dogs I've ever seen. Freckle's is a lover-girl. She is sweet, gentle, and very intuitive to pain. Bella has a hard time with itchy ears and Molly has skin issues. Freckles will find the bad spots on Molly and lick them, and she does the same with Bella's ears. She does so very gingerly, and with deep care. This may be gross to humans, but Freckles does it so sweetly that you (almost) forget.

The thing is, Freckles is like this with everyone. Her one desire in life is to be close to us. She spends her whole day trying to snuggle with anyone and everyone around her. When she gets the chance, she looks up at you with her big, green eyes and licks your face sweetly and slowly. She just wants to be near you and love on you. That's her only goal.

And this goal does not cease when Bella and Molly are mean to her. She stays sweet. She may be a little more cautious, but she still loves.


Learning to Love Unconditionally

When I think about those personality traits, I realize that my dog is much better at loving people than I am. She doesn't care what they look like, smell like, how they act, or whether or not they are annoying...she just loves them. She doesn't hold back love based on superficial things, and she makes sure you know that she loves you.

God calls us to love one another. We don't have to be alike or agree on everything, and it doesn't matter whether or not a person gets on your nerves. God still calls us to love on people. Be polite, be nice, be considerate, eliminate pride, give sincere compliments and encouragement, and let people know that they are cared about and that you are there for them. Do not discriminate, do not hate, seek peace and pursue it (Psalm 34:14). It is not our job to decide if someone deserves love or not. Love them regardless.

Put Love Into Action

Let people know how much they mean to you, and avoid nit-picking all their flaws. There is a time and place for correcting people, but there is a difference between lovingly trying to help and just being critical.

Take a lesson from my spotted, lazy dog: love everyone, no matter what. Jesus loves us, despite our wrong-doing, and we should pour that love out to others.This is what I have learned from my dog :)


*This post was originally posted in February 2015, but I recently decided to revamp and republish them! I hope you are enjoying them!

24 comments

  1. Love this! Its amazing how God can use anything (or anyone) to reveal a little piece of His heart to us!

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  2. A dog is the ultimate giver of unconditional love and boy do they let you know they love you.

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  3. I love these posts! My older girl sounds like Freckles. She knows when people are in physical and emotional pain and will curl up next to you while you cry our until you feel better. So sweet.

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    1. Thank you, Nicole! The next one will be Thursday :) We have three dogs, so it is a three part series.
      Cuddly dogs are the best!

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  4. Omg...my dogs have taught me so much! My chiweenie is especially good at teaching me to stop and smell the roses (and the light pole, and the bushes, and the side of the building and oh, that rock over there...) and that there's never a bad time for cuddling. ;-)

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    1. Bahaha! Ashley, your comment cracked me up! But it is so true! How much better off would we be if we would only stop and sniff the roses (but maybe not the light pole)!

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  5. My Gatsby is the same way! I get frustrated when she follows me around or as soon as I sit down wants in my lap but she's such a love bug. Fur babies are the best!

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    1. Fur-babies are definitely the best. People look at us funny when we say we have three, but I wouldn't trade them!

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  6. Your dog is adorable and I LOVE her name...if we could all love unconditionally like dogs do, wouldn't the world be a better place?:)

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  7. I love this! I don't have any pets, but I have always admired the bond that people have with their dogs. We really can learn a lot from them!

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    1. You should definitely get a dog, if you are up for the responsibility they came with! I love all three of mine and wouldn't trade them in, even when they are rotten ;)

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  8. Dogs are truly a mans best friend. I love my sweet puppy!

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  9. I love this post and want to go look for your other posts in this series. Freckles has a beautiful, sweet face ... and it sounds like her temperament matches! Trish

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  10. Freckles sounds so sweet! :) I have learned so much about the importance of presence from my puppy. She reminds me that sometimes just being with someone is the best thing I can do, even if I don't have anything helpful to say! Dogs are the best, aren't they?

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    1. So true! Sometimes that's all we have to do.
      And yes, they really are!

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  11. I couldn't agree more! I often say that I want to be worthy of the kind of love Rosie gives me: the unconditional kind. Her love keeps me in check and motivates me to always try to be better!

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  12. Such a great lesson! I'm always reminded by my children to love others unconditionally no matter their flaws. They often tell me I look beautiful when I'm in my pajamas with not a stitch of makeup on and it's such a great reminder to not focus so much on the outward appearance. Great post!

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    1. Thank you, Cara! I am not a mom yet, but I feel sure I will learn a TON from the future kids I have!

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