Where is My Comfort?

Crazy Busy and Completely Blessed! That’s how I would describe this past December. The “Crazy Busy” part explains why a blog post hasn’t appeared in your inbox for a month, but I can’t wait to spend the next month highlighting the spiritual lessons God has creatively managed to weave into my soul through moments that were unexpected, profound, and sometimes even funny.

Lee and I were particularly concerned about our oldest daughter traveling home from Portland with her service dog on their first ever airplane excursion together. Skylar just turned a year old and is being trained with the help of a wonderful organization near Kayla’s university in Oregon, but she is, shall we say, highly energetic.

When we were visiting Kayla this past semester we mentioned to a woman at the local dog park that Kayla was planning to fly Skylar home with her at Christmas. She burst into laughter at the mere thought that this bounding, pulsating mass of pure energy could possibly behave calmly and obediently as she endured security lines, crowds, and the hours of being confined at Kayla’s feet during the flight.

We imagined emergency announcements like – “Portland Approach, this is Southwest 636 requesting an emergency return to the airport due to an uncontrolled canine onboard the aircraft,” and then Kayla receiving notification that she and her dog were banned for life from all future Southwest flights.

We had an arsenal of prayer warriors covering the whole travel time plus strict instructions for Kayla to purchase some kind of “doggie downers” to prevent motion sickness and hyperactivity disasters.

We are grateful to announce that God answered our prayers: Kayla and Skylar are still on hospitable terms with Southwest Airlines. Emergency landings were avoided and apparently no one was injured or traumatized in their travels.

As Kayla recounted her and Skylar’s travel adventure, she described Skylar’s fear during three parts of the trip: takeoff, landing, and the train ride from the gate.

Through each of these unknown, uncertain events, Kayla pulled the trembling dog close to her so Skylar could sense her presence. The comfort of her nearness brought calm and peace. Skylar simply needed a reminder that Kayla, the owner she trusted with her life, the one who had rescued her from a shelter, was with her.

I was reminded of one of the most precious promises in God’s Word: God is always with us! He will never leave us, never abandon us, never take His eyes off of us.

A favorite verse comes to mind:

Blessed is the one who trusts the Lord; whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by streams of water that sends out its roots by the stream. It has no fear of heat; it’s leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to produce fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

As we intentionally draw close to the Lord through spending time in His presence, the Living reality of Jesus Christ establishes us in His love, driving out all fear and worry. When uncertain futures loom large in our hearts, may we choose to rest in God’s presence, finding peace and comfort for our troubled souls.

God is always with us! His presence is our greatest comfort.