Think BIG!

In "Other" Words

This week's quote is:

"If we could understand everything God does, then He'd have to be a small god--small enough to fit in our little minds."

~ Randy Alcorn ~


My youngest daughter was fifteen when she came to me and said, “Mom, I want a dog.”

Because of her low self esteem and some of the emotional problems she had already gone through in her young life, I thought it would be a good thing for her. “Sure. We can get a dog.”

“I want either a Saint Bernard or a Great Dane.”

Whoa! BIG dog. I was a bit nervous at that – after all, we lived in a parsonage even though it was large with lots of ground around it. Any pets we acquired needed to be reasonable so I said, “Those are big dogs and very expensive.(Duh!) We’ll have to pray about it. (Real spiritual.) If God wants you to have one, He will have to provide one for free.”

Whew! I thought I was off the hook. Surely God wouldn’t send us a dog like that. I figured this idea would just blow over and things could get back to normal. We’d wait awhile and then go to the shelter and get a nice little dog. So why were my eyes drawn to the pet column in our weekly paper?

There she was, a purebred Great Dane, free to a good home. I dialed the number and heaved a sigh of relief when the voice on the other end told me she was already gone. But wait – would I leave my number anyway?

Cammie was disappointed, but I assured her, we would still get a nice little dog. Before we had a chance to go to the shelter, the owner of the Great Dane called back and said Sadie was available again. The family that took her lived in an apartment and didn’t realize how BIG she was. Uh-oh.

We met the owner at a local ice cream stand. She explained that Sadie would follow us anywhere for ice cream. After the dog wolfed down a large vanilla cone, she squeezed into the back seat of the car between my daughters, smiling her Great Dane smile and drooling. Allissa shrank as far over to the door as possible to avoid an unwanted bath, while Cammie hugged and loved on her new pet.

In my mind, I never understood how such a BIG dog could be so gentle. Though she looked intimidating, she was as loving as they came. Because she was well trained, she walked easily on a leash. I felt a sense of security having her around as well as comfort in the months that followed when our family went through some difficult times.

When Cammie married several years later, she received a Chihuahua for a wedding gift. Seeing the two dogs together often made me smile as little Egggo gazed up at Sadie. I often wondered what the little one was thinking until I saw a poster of a Chihuahua sitting next to a Great Dane. In the bubble above the little dog’s head were the words, “Think BIG!”

While I never can fully understand why or how God does the things He does, I always try to remind myself to “Think Big.” Like the little dog, I worry and fret over problems. I try to solve them in my own might and usually fall flat on my face.

But when I remember there are no unsolvable problems, no hopeless situations for the God of the Universe, I can let go of my finite vision and futile attempts at making things right. He is BIG, strong and yet gentle as He wraps His loving arms around me and tells me “I AM in control.”

If you would like to join us today, simply blog about the quote at your blog site, then visit "Joy in the Morning" to read her take on the quote and to leave your link along with the other participants.


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