Hand Picked

Gimli growling on the left

When we decided to get Gimli and Virginia, we chose a breeder located in our home town. Since we live 1,000 miles away, we couldn't make it over to their house to visit the puppies when they were babies. Luckily, my sister helped us out and went over to the house and took some photos of the whole litter so we could pick out our new puppy. In both cases, though, the decision was very easy. One puppy stood out among the rest: that was OUR dog!

With Gimli, it was the first photo. Paul took one look at this "growling" puppy and said, "That's my boy!" With Virginia, it was the second picture. We picked her out while Gimli was still missing.  I had intended to surprise Paul with a new puppy at Christmas. But after a few weeks, his mom and I decided to tell him to help ease the pain of missing Gimli. He took one look at the second photo, pointed to Virginia and said, "I want HER!" We were in love before we even met them!

We hand picked our two sweet puppies who we would love and care for for their whole lives. The Bible tells us that God hand picked us to be His children also:

John 15:16-17: You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.

1 Peter 2:9: You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Virginia is the 2nd from the right

We picked out Gimli & Virginia after they were born, but God chose us before He even created us. We will love and care for Gimli & Virginia as long as they live, but God will love and care for us for eternity. Not only did He choose us, but chose us for a purpose: to love others and show them the goodness of God.  We were designed and chosen by the Living God to love God and love others forever. Knowing that the God of the Universe created me and chose me to be in a relationship with Him gives me such a sense of worth and value that cannot be taken away due to circumstances, my performance or success in life, or others' opinion of me. I pray that in the moments when I am tempted to believe that my worth is tied up in what I can accomplish, produce, or who I can impress, that I will remember that my true worth is defined by the fact that the Living God created me & chose me, not because of who I am or what I can do, but because of His love for me.