Christmas has come early to the McCloskey household.
We subscribed our four-legged children to BarkBox.
For those of you who don’t know, BarkBox is a monthly subscription service that delivers four-legged delight to your doorstep. Each box contains treats, toys, and a chewy, so our already spectacularly spoiled dogs get a monthly Christmas.
They just received their first one, and I cannot describe the joy in my heart or the fun Nathan and I had watching them tear into it. We laughed as our schnauzer, Snickers, stole toys from the girls and played keep-away, which always gets Gracie going. The treats were quite the hit with our plump Elsie and our blind little senior, Molly.
Afterward, they settled around us for doggie massages and pets.
What kind of lunacy is this, I often wonder, that we work hard and scrimp to provide for ourselves, only to lavish these dogs with toys, treats, and special love?
But this morning, as I gave Gracie her massage to work out the kinks from her oh-so-stressful life, I realized that the way we care for our dogs gives me a glimpse into the way the Father loves us.
My ladies’ group is studying the book of John, and this week we studied Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. I was struck again by the love He displayed despite their seeming inability to understand Him or love Him back as He deserved.
And yet Jesus remained utterly unfazed.
He got down on the floor and served them.
I have often marveled that Jesus, who is God, came to demonstrate love instead of demanding it from us. He knew every human frailty sitting around that table. He knew their confusion, fear, failures, and coming betrayals. Yet John tells us He loved them “to the uttermost.”
Not having children, I never thought I could fully understand that kind of unconditional love—the kind that finds joy in giving, serving, protecting, and caring for someone who can never repay you in equal measure.
But this morning, with Gracie stretched out beside me as though her massage were simply her due, I felt the Holy Spirit gently point out that I do understand it, at least a little.
The Bible says God rescues us because He delights in us. It says we are beloved children, filled with His Spirit and empowered by His love. It tells us every good and perfect gift comes from Him.
That doesn’t mean those gifts are problem-free. Marriage isn’t. Careers aren’t. Homes aren’t. Children certainly aren’t.
And neither are dogs.
But He gives freely, and then He stays with us through the fallout.
For those of you who are parents, what is one of your greatest joys at Christmas? I imagine it is watching your children’s faces as they open gifts you lovingly chose for them.
You delight when they delight.
You mourn when they mourn.
You are for them, not against them.
And if their life were in danger, you would lay down your own.
That, my friends, is the love of the Father.
Around here, we are giving BarkBoxes to ridiculously pampered pooches just because we love them. It has nothing to do with whether they earned it or deserve it.
It has everything to do with love.
How much more does the Father love you?
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