Devotionals for the Heart: We are forever safe in God's Hands

Safe in His Hands
A devotional by Jessica Brodie

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

—Psalm 46:1 (NIV)

Are you an animal lover?

Perhaps you’re a dog lover or a cat lover (most people are one or the other). In my home we have a giant German Shepherd named Captain as well as three cats, Leia, Casper, and our decidedly unique ginger tabby, Finn, who seems to think he’s more a dog than a cat. My love for animals doesn’t just stop with pets. Having grown up in Florida, I’ve always adored common lizards. There’s something about their tiny little mouths and their gentle, watchful eyes that tugs at my heart.

Recently, I was with my daughter and some friends of hers who found a baby lizard. They picked the little fellow up and then passed him from hand to hand, marveling at his size and mannerisms. When he got to me, his poor little body quaked with terror. But after a few moments, as if he decided I was no threat, I saw him visibly begin to relax. His deep breaths began to slow and steady. Finally, we made eye contact, being to being, in a moment of gentle connection.

I felt like, at least for a moment, I was his safe place—his refuge. I certainly wanted to be. Sometimes I feel like that lizard in everyday life. Do you know what I mean? There are days and years, when I think my home or my car is a refuge. Maybe I think the health, auto, and life insurance plans I have are going to keep me or my family safe and protected, or the current peace in my community means I’m somehow immune to tragedy. Maybe I think my body won’t fail me or the money in my savings or retirement accounts will provide for all my needs.

But the truth is those are temporary. Only God is my real refuge.

Think about it—if I’m lucky, my body has maybe 100 years on it, but then what? It breaks down, and then it’s done. It’s not meant to last forever. Neither are any of the things of this world. Animals are born and then they die. Trees—even the oldest of them, giant live oaks or massive sequoias—eventually come to an end, whether from fire or other natural disaster or from human hands. Cliffs erode, earthquakes transform vistas, even islands cave into the seas.

And money? That’s certainly temporary. No matter how much we have while we’re alive, we don’t take it with us. What is eternal is the Lord, period—and if we belong to Him then our souls are eternal as well. But that’s only because of God’s great love for us, not because we have any worth or power on our own. He sent us His Son (Jesus Christ) as our Savior. If we choose to believe and follow Jesus, to repent of our sins and become His disciples then we’re guaranteed eternal life, salvation, and a place in our Heavenly Father’s house—a heavenly home that will last forever.

God provides that shelter, that refuge. Only God, out of the vast and gracious and merciful love He has for all of us. If we choose Him, we will live with Him forever. For a moment when I held that baby lizard on that sunshiny afternoon, I was his temporary refuge. But his real refuge is the Lord, just as mine is.

As Psalm 46:1-7 (NIV) proclaims, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

Let’s Pray:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Sometimes I look around me and think the things of this world protect me, but they are only an illusion. They are temporary and impermanent. But you, my loving Father God—Abba, Creator of the Universe—are my true refuge. You are my rock and my salvation. You are my forever home. Thank You for loving me enough, for loving all your imperfect children enough, to be that refuge despite of our shortcomings. Please help me to love You with my whole heart now and forever. Help me to lead others to You as well. In Jesus’s name I pray, Amen.

~*~
Song of Reflection #1: “Safe” by Alisa Turner. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #2: “Every Moment” by Forever Jones. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #3: “Into the Sea (It’s Gonna Be Ok)” by Tasha Layton. Listen to it here.

~*~
Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is an award-winning Christian novelist, journalist, editor, blogger, and writing coach. 

Her two Christian contemporary novels, The Memory Garden and Tangled Roots, are Amazon bestsellers and her third novel, Hidden Seeds, is out now and is a top release. Jessica has a YouTube devotional, and you can also connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and more. She’s also produced a free eBook, A God-Centered Life: 10 Faith-Based Practices When You’re Feeling Anxious, Grumpy, or Stressed.

Jessica is also the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism. Learn more about Jessica’s writing ministry and read her faith blog at http://jessicabrodie.com.

Devotionals for the Heart: Why we need to forgive like God forgives us

Grace Even When We’re Rotten or Mean
A devotional by Jessica Brodie

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”—Colossians 3:13 (NIV)

Have you ever done something rotten, mean, or insulting to someone else and you felt certain they would never speak to you again?

Recently, we put claw caps on all three of our cats. They have been clawing our furniture to shreds in spite of the many cat scratching posts and catnip we provide. Nothing worked. Finally, I asked the vet what we should do, and she suggested claw caps, which are caps that you put on your cat’s claws to prevent them from scratching. This sounds like a great idea in theory, but our cats already despise having their nails clipped. We knew this would be a stressful situation.

So, on Saturday we all sat down to do this as a team effort—me, my husband, and two of our kids. We got it done, but it was a grueling ordeal, one I hope never to deal with again … except we’re supposed to do this every month from here on out. Our cats were so upset over what they endured that they all ran off to hide somewhere in our home, and I didn’t see them for a couple of hours.

Later that afternoon, when I saw them sleeping on the screened-in patio, I decided to approach them. Carefully I stepped outside and bid them hello, gently holding out my hand. And what do you know? They all came right over and rubbed up against me! All was forgiven, and we were back to normal. I was pleasantly surprised and frankly really touched that they didn’t seem to hold a grudge.

As I walked back into the house, it occurred to me that this is exactly the way God treats us. We mess up, fall out of alignment with him, sin in big ways and small, and sometimes without ever meaning to. We create trauma and strife on a spiritual level. And yet God forgives us … over and over again. No matter what.

It’s astounding! Sometimes we do really rotten things, too—things that hurt God, things that hurt other people or ourselves (which, make no mistake, also hurts God). Yet when we repent, it’s all instantly washed away. We are forgiven. It doesn’t stop there, of course. We’re supposed to pass that same forgiveness on. Just as we have been forgiven, we’re supposed to forgive others. We’re not supposed to hold grudges or put up walls but instead offer perfect forgiveness in the spirit of agape love, just as God has done to us.

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean someone in an abused relationship is supposed to go back to their abuser. Boundaries and self-protection are important, and we are beloved by God. But in our hearts, we can forgive wrongs that were done to us. We can move on and not hold things against that person forever and ever.

Just as my cats endured at my hands what they felt was probably wrong, they forgave me and moved on. That’s what God, our Heavenly Father, does for us. What a beautiful gift that is! What a joy that our past and our wrongdoings no longer define us.

If you are holding a grudge against someone else, set it down. Forgive and move on. It’s not optional—Jesus Christ commanded us to do this. As He said in the Sermon on the Mount: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15 NIV).

Likewise, if you are holding on to your own past or recent sins that you confessed and repented of, but you just can’t seem to forgive yourself … if you are still beating yourself up, certain God could never forgive of a wretch like you, that your sins and your situation are somehow “different”, take heart. Know that God extends grace, and that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ Jesus when we repent and believe (Romans 8:38-39).

Amen, and thanks be to God!

Let’s Pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for the extravagant, wildly generous, completely loving grace and mercy that you extend to me and to all of your children. We don’t deserve it, but you give it anyway. Help me have the strength to forgive myself and forgive others in that same spirit of grace and mercy. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection #1: “Forgiveness (Live)” by Matthew West. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #2: “Your Love Is Extravagant” by Casting Crowns. Listen to it here.

~*~
Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is an award-winning Christian novelist, journalist, editor, blogger, and writing coach. She is also the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism. 

Her Christian contemporary novel, The Memory Garden, released this Spring 2025. Book two in the series releases this Fall 2025. Learn more about Jessica’s writing ministry and read her faith blog at http://jessicabrodie.com. She has a YouTube devotional, and you can also connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and more. She’s also produced a free eBook, A God-Centered Life: 10 Faith-Based Practices When You’re Feeling Anxious, Grumpy, or Stressed.

Devotionals for the Heart: True Love

An Inconvenient Love
A devotional by Jessica Brodie

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”—Luke 6:38 NIV

Have you ever gone from discomfort to devotion?

At the risk of sounding heartless, I’ll make a bold confession: For most of my life, dogs made me really, really uncomfortable. They were fine at a distance, or if they were super old and gentle.

But most dogs are boisterous and messy, and they like to lick and slobber and jump up on you. There’s very little sensible control when it comes to dogs, at least in my experience with them.

My husband, Matt, brought a huge German Shepherd named Scout to our marriage ten years ago. Scout helped me get used to dogs and learn to love them. But while Scout was my first dog, he wasn’t really mine. He was Matt’s. I wasn’t “Mommy”, even though Scout loved me. I was part of the pack, and I belonged to Matt in his eyes, so he loved me too. But he was fully grown and trained by the time I came along. When he passed away a couple years later, I was sad, but Matt was devastated.

Then, in 2021, I decided it was time: I knew how much Matt missed having a dog, and in my heart of hearts, I knew I needed to bend and grow. I needed to understand what it was like to be a dog person as well as a cat person. So we adopted Captain, a fuzzy, floppy-tongued, six-week-old German Shepherd puppy … and just like that, my world turned upside down. That first year was one of the hardest in my life. I learned firsthand how to do everything that goes with having a puppy. I had no idea how much work it would be! But in that work, I also learned what it was like to truly know and love Captain.

We’re at a sweet spot now, almost three years in. And today, I’ve learned what it means to be a dog mom. Captain is definitely my baby. When I get home, he brings me his toys and whines in utter joy, and my heart leaps at the sight of him. When he’s scared or bored, he cuddles in my lap (I’m pretty sure he thinks he’s the size of our cats). Sometimes I wake up and have to give him a big kiss, just because.

Now, my cats are amazing… when I get home, they sidle up to greet me. They blink with their cat smiles and show how much they missed me in their own special kitty ways. “Welcome home, special human one,” they seem to proclaim majestically. But with Captain, it’s different. It’s like his whole world was wrecked when I walked out the door, and now that I’m home, life can start anew. “Everything is right in the world again because you’re here, Mom!” he tells me with his wild, enthusiastic eyes as he vigorously circles me again and again, covering every inch of my pants in dog fur.

My cats loved me and missed me, but life still went on. But for my dog, it was like a piece of him was missing the whole time I was gone. It got me thinking about how we humans love and treat each other in this world. Imagine with me a moment: What would the world be like if we all were to love each other like a dog loves us? Minus the licks and doggy slobber, I imagine it would be a lot like we all used to get along in kindergarten—curious, mostly friendly, and boundlessly enthusiastic. And yet that’s usually not the case with adults, is it?

Many times we greet loved ones with barely more than a quick “hi” before rushing on to whatever else we need to do. We avert our eyes in stores rather than make small talk with neighbors, and lie “Oh, I’m great!” when someone asks how we’re doing. And that’s just social courtesy. What about really showing love…caring for others in their sickness and hunger, sharing our basic life needs together, such as clothing or money or shelter…how does that look?

It usually looks quite different from what I believe our Savior (Jesus Christ) intended. In Matthew 10:25-37, Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart and our mind and our soul, and the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves. As an example, Jesus gave us the “Good Samaritan” parable about a man who cared for a perfect stranger in an extravagant way, tending his wounds and paying for medical care. There’s nothing convenient about this kind of love. Loving this way is decidedly inconvenient.

Honestly, that’s how my dog loves. It doesn’t matter what he’s doing when I get home. If he’s asleep in the corner with his foot in his mouth, he wakes up and races for me. If he’s scratching himself or eating a treat or having some silent communication with one of our cats, he drops what he’s doing and races for me. He stops everything because I am there. Nothing else matters. It doesn’t matter what I look like or smell like, if I’ve been spending time with other dogs, or if I’ve been gone for a couple of days. It doesn’t matter if the last time he saw me I scolded him for being naughty.

He just loves me and he’s happy to see me. Do I love the people in my world that way? Sadly, sometimes I don’t. Grudges get in the way or my own selfish concerns. But what if I were to model a little bit of my dog’s kind of love? What if I treated others, those I love and those who are strangers, with the same boisterous care and enthusiasm my dog bestows on me? I imagine the world would be a much better place, the kind of place Jesus commanded us to create.

This week, let’s see what we can do to love each other better, whether our inner circle, our neighbors, or strangers we encounter. Let’s love from a place of inconvenience. That’s what Jesus would have us do.

Let’s Pray: Lord, please help me to love others with wild, boundless, extravagant care, knowing that the love I show reflects Your perfect love. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “Love God Love People” by Danny Gokey. Listen to it here.

~*~
Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is an award-winning journalist, author, blogger, editor, writing coach, and devotional writer with thousands of articles to her name. 

Since 2010, she has served as the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism, which has won 123 journalism awards during her tenure. Her latest book is Preparing Our Hearts: An Advent Devotional to Draw Closer to God at Christmas.

She has won more than 100 writing awards. Jessica is a seasoned speaker and frequent contributor to Christianity.com, BibleStudyTools.com, and Crosswalk.com, among many others. She has a weekly faith blog at JessicaBrodie.com and is part of the team at Wholly Loved Ministries, with her work included in many of their devotionals and Bible studies. Jessica also produced a free eBook, A God-Centered Life: 10 Faith-Based Practices When You’re Feeling Anxious, Grumpy, or Stressed.

Jessica holds a Master of Arts in English. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in communications/print journalism from Florida International University. Born and raised in Miami, Jessica now lives in Lexington, South Carolina, just outside Columbia. She has also lived in Ohio and in the mountains of western North Carolina. She and her husband, Matt Brodie, have a blended family of four teenage children and stepchildren.

Jessica has written several novels and is actively seeking publication through her agent Bob Hostetler of The Steve Laube Agency. Her novel The Memory Garden won the 2018 Genesis contest for Contemporary Fiction from American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and her novel Tangled Roots won a third place Foundation Award in Contemporary Romance at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in 2019. She is finishing the third in the series, Hidden Seeds, now.

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Connect with Jessica:
Website: https://www.jessicabrodie.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaJBrodie
Facebook Author: https://www.facebook.com/authorjessicajbrodie
Facebook Personal: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaJBrodie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicajbrodie/
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicajbrodie/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shiningthelightjessicabrodie/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jessicajbrodie

Devotionals for the Heart: God's Love

A Doggy Kind of Love
A devotional by Jessica Brodie

I’m not my dog’s Number One person—that role belongs to my husband, Matt, who I’m quite certain Captain believes hangs the moon in the sky. Still, it staggers me to experience the enthusiastic, passionate, and lavish love Captain holds for me.

We adopted our German Shepherd when he was about six weeks old in the summer of 2021, and it immediately began a time of intense learning for me. I’d never had a puppy before, and I often joke that if I knew going in how much work was required, I would have nixed the whole idea. Thank goodness my husband has had dogs his whole life and knew what he was doing. A lifelong cat mom accustomed to the independent I’ll-cuddle-with-you-when-I-feel-like-it feline way, I had no clue how much effort and interaction I was in for, from potty training to leash walking to not treating my favorite winter jacket like a chew toy.

But, oh, what joy it has been as well! No wonder everyone loves dogs so much—for now I can say I’ve become a true dog-lover, too.

What strikes me most is the fervent joy Captain has merely over being in our presence. If I walk in the door after work or even a ten-minute errand, he literally leaps in happiness, spinning around and around as if he’s saying, “You’re back! This is the best thing ever!”

If I’m working on my laptop on the couch while he’s sound asleep next to me, and I get up to go work at my desk for a while, he stirs himself awake, trots along at my heels, then settles himself right back down again at my feet. “Where you go, I follow, Mama,” he’s saying. I swear he did somersaults for me one afternoon when I picked him up at doggy daycare after a business trip.

My cats adore me, but it’s on far a different level—they show it best by blinking their eyes at me contentedly, or coming up for a quick head-nuzzle. It’s like they’re saying, “Heyyy…thanks for coming back,” a laid-back two on a scale of one to ten in excitement. But Captain? He’s a ten on the excitement scale. Maybe a twelve.

It reminds me a lot of the unexpected enthusiasm and love shown to the prodigal son in Luke 15. Also called the parable of the lost son, the story relates how this son took his inheritance early and then squandered it on wild living. Destitute, he eventually returned home in shame, hoping only to be his father’s hired servant. But to his astonishment, his father was overjoyed at his return and welcomed him home with open arms, celebration, and much honor. As Scripture tells us, “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for hm; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20 NIV).

I can imagine this father, quite literally running toward his son, tears of joy streaming down his cheeks and laughter bubbling within his chest. “You’re home! My precious boy—I thought you were dead and gone forever!” I imagine him shouting. If he were Captain, he’d also be doing backflips and somersaults in glee, a dance of pure, unadulterated doggy love filled with fervor and zeal.

That’s how God loves us, in truth: so much that God chases us down, calls us back from the depths of the wilderness, forgives our sins and welcomes us home. So much that God sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, pay our sin-debt, and create a place for us in eternity with him forever. He loves us with the perfect, pure affection of a German Shepherd greeting his favorite people after a long time away.

I wonder: Do we love God back with that same fervor and zeal? Does that extraordinary love and gratitude fill our hearts and overflow in our actions, or do we tuck it down, keeping our emotions steady and our faith zipped in tight?

Today, I urge you to stop keeping your own feelings and love for the Lord buttoned up and socially “appropriate.” Instead, risk looking like a proverbial Jesus freak and let your passions ignite and explode when you worship, pray, and serve the Lord in your daily life. He loves us even better than a dog loves his master, and in honor of that, let’s love him well in return.

Let’s Pray: Heavenly Lord, thank You for the incredible and exuberant love You have for us and for the relationship You invite us to experience with You. Help us be filled with joy and enthusiasm for this precious gift today and every day. In Jesus's Name I pray, Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is an award-winning Christian novelist, journalist, editor, blogger, and writing coach and the recipient of the 2018 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award for her novel, The Memory Garden.

She is also the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism. Learn more about her fiction and read her faith blog at http://jessicabrodie.com.

Jessica has a weekly YouTube devotional and podcast. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and more. She’s also produced a free eBook, A God-Centered Life: 10 Faith-Based Practices When You’re Feeling Anxious, Grumpy, or Stressed.

Devotionals for the Heart: God loves you and He wants your whole heart

Give Him Your Heart
A devotional by Cyndi Staudt

“O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.” 

–Proverbs 23:26 (NLT)

As I perused social media my eyes landed on a friend’s post of a dead snake in her living room.

Posts of snakes always seem to stop me in my tracks, mainly because they are one of those things that I just don't “do”. Her caption detailed a familiar story for those who have felines that roam the outdoors. Cats tend to bring dead animals as offerings to their owners, gifts to show their owners how much these faithful furry friends love them.

My own cats are indoor cats. In Florida the outdoors presents a host of predators including coyotes, alligators and owls. So, I prefer to keep my babies in the safe confines of my house or the screened in porch. However, that does not deter them from their desire to present me with gifts. I will often wake up in the morning to a host of toys next to my bed that they have dropped there during the night. I'm always sure to praise them and thank them for their special surprises. But what I wish they would know is that I love them unconditionally. My adoration for them is not dependent on whether they bring me gifts or whether they are behaving well or being naughty. I love them simply because they are mine and all I want is their love and affection in return.

I've noticed we can be a bit like these kitties when it comes to our relationship with God. Some of us try to earn God's love through a myriad of methods, offerings of sorts, hoping if He is pleased by what we bring we will be worthy of His love. Some of us try to follow the rules bringing an “offering” of obedience. We serve at church as a gift given to the “least of these”. We witness to others, take mission trips, attend church, read the Bible, spend time in prayer, commit to daily “quiet time” and more. While these are admirable disciplines and activities to participate in, engaging in them is not a prerequisite for acceptance and love from God.

More than anything, God wants our whole hearts. However, our flesh tendency is to bring Him offerings of “works”. We know His character, but we expect Him to act outside of it on a daily basis. We repeat verses that assure us we don't have to work or earn his love, yet our actions demonstrate we might not fully believe them. We know that all God is after is our hearts, but we seek to give him more because we fear, deep down inside, that our hearts won't be enough.

But rest assured friends, our heart is enough! It’s all God requires of His children.

Those other “offerings” we bring Him should only be performed as an expression of thanks and adoration to the One Who gave it all hoping, in return, “all to Him we would freely give”. God promises us that when we hand over our heart to Him, He will exchange it for something far better. He promises us in Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT): “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

As is often the case with Jesus Christ, we get the better end of this deal by far! Jesus gave it all just for a chance, a possibility, that we would surrender our heart to Him. Let’s stop bringing sorry substitutes and simply place our hearts on the altar before Him, believing it will rise as a fragrant offering that He enthusiastically accepts. Let’s leave behind the idea that God’s love has to be earned and believe love is lavished on us simply because God loves us…God is love.

Let’s offer God our whole heart and watch Him transform our heart into a heart that resembles His.

Let’s Pray:
Loving Father, thank You for reminding us we don’t have to bring You gifts and offerings to receive Your love, grace and acceptance. We place our whole heart in Your loving hands, fully expecting to receive a new heart that is tender and responsive to You and the stirrings of the Spirit within. Forgive us for times we attempt to earn Your love in any way. We long to hear You tell us one day that we have lived our lives like King David of the Bible—as someone after Your own Heart. May we take delight in following You, lingering in Your lavish love, living free from the feeling we need to bring You anything but our heart to be accepted in Your presence. In Jesus’s Name we pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “I'll Give Him My Heart” (with What Can I Give Him?) (feat. Matthew Wooten) and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. Listen to it here.

~*~
Author Bio:

Cyndi Staudt is a Jesus-loving, adrenaline junkie who is devoted to living her life for Jesus Christ until the day she is living with Him. 

With a passion for cultivating a craving for God’s Word, her devotions and Bible studies are saturated with faith and hope to stir your soul to connect with God in deeper, more intimate ways.

Through her writing she hopes to ignite your desire to read God’s Word, invite your heart to experience God’s love, and inspire you to live your live life “souled out” to the One whose love has no limits.

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Connect with Cyndi on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/souledoutcyndi/

Summer Stories: Teacher's Pet

Teacher’s Pet
A guest post by Gail Gaymer Martin

Although Teacher’s Pet is the name of my new release with a story that has nothing to do with my experience, the title rings true for the novel and for me. I was a high school teacher, later a counselor at the same school, and I loved animals. We owned two cats and two dogs. As time passed and the pets grew older and with lots of tears, we said goodbye to Teddy, our samoyed. Along with two cats, we still had our oldest pet, a small terror, named Jinx who lived to be twenty.

As Jinx grew older, he began to lose a few of his faculties, but he was still a loving dog that meant so much to us. One day, we let him out in the backyard and not thinking when a meter reader had gone into the backyard, we didn’t check after he left. He forgot to close the gate.

When I opened the door to let Jinx in, he was gone. I panicked and we drove up and down the neighborhood streets and didn’t find him. Next, we called the humane society since dogs were not allowed to run loose in our neighborhood. I also called the police department to let them know. Jinx did wear a collar with his license number on it, so we put up signs in stores and everywhere we could with his name and how to contact us. I heard from a couple of people, but when we searched their home area, it was either not Jinx or he had already moved on.

We waited and waited with his licenses number by the phone. After a week of crying, my husband and I faced the truth. He had been hit by a car or someone had taken him. Every day I looked at his food and water dishes and kept telling myself to dispose of them, but I didn’t have the heart.

One day I received a telephone call from Jinx’s veterinarian. He asked if we still owned Jinx. I said yes but told him Jinx had been missing for over a week. His comment startled me. “We think Jinx is here. The clerk saw him outside the building and recognized him. She asked me to take a look and I think it’s him. He’s wearing a license. Do you have the number?”

My heart pounded as I shifted the paper in front of me and read him the numbers.

“It’s him. He’s a bit bedraggled, and the pads of his feet are worn, but otherwise, he is fine.”

I could barely speak to say thank you a ton of times and to tell him we would be there. My mind reeled, trying to image Jinx finding his way to the veterinarian’s office which was at least nine miles away with two major highways to cross with four lanes in each direction.

We left home for the vet’s office unable to understand how Jinx had survived that journey and that he’d found his way to his veterinarian’s office. When we picked him up, he smelled awful and his little feet were worn, but we didn’t care. While my husband drove home, I hugged him and let him lick me as I thanked the Lord that somehow Jinx had found his way home.

My one regret was that we should have contacted a newspaper with this happy ever after story. But I’m telling the story now, even though Jinx had been gone for many years. I still have wonderful memories, and I’m still amazed.

~*~
Author Bio:

Best-selling and award-winning novelist, Gail Gaymer Martin is the author of contemporary Christian and sweet romance and romantic suspense with 81 contracted novels and over 4 million books sold. 

Her novels have received numerous national awards, including the ACFW Carol Award, Booksellers Best, and RT Reviewer’s Choice Award. 

She is the author of Writer Digest’s Writing the Christian Romance and is a co-founder of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). 

Gail is a keynote speaker at women’s events at churches, civic and business organizations as well as a workshop presenter at conferences across the U.S.A.

She lives in Michigan with her husband.

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Book Blurb for Teacher’s Pet:

Molly Manning loves dogs, and she uses shelter dogs with her Teacher’s Pet special education school program to provide discipline training and love for her students and the dogs. 

But her dream is a building of her own to run her Teacher’s Pet business, and Brent Runyan has that building. But Brent, a workaholic businessman, is not interested. He’s trying to raise his orphaned nephew who has special needs, and Brent is failing. 

His tragic past puts dogs on his no interest list, but Molly is persistent. Soon Brent finds himself and his nephew, tangled in Molly’s dream and, even more, in Molly’s life.

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Connect with Gail:
Website: www.gailgaymermartin.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gail.g.martin.3
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GailGMartin
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