Thought for the day

Unconditional love

I have always been a cat lover and had cats since childhood. After my last cat passed away following a long life of chasing birds and bringing home the odd dead thing, I went through a period of really missing having a pet around. A year or two went by and I decided that I would bring the subject up with my husband and after a lot of persuasion he agreed to go down the route of having a dog.

We went to several dog homes and finally chose a Jack Russell called ‘Sadie’ from the Dogs Trust in Loughborough. When we saw her, she was quivering in a corner and looked like she could do with a loving home.

Little did we know that she was a bitey, snappy and fearful creature who had never been loved and knew nothing about how to play. 3 years later she is a loving softy. This I think is because we gave her a lot of love and attention and she in turn learned to trust us.

I believe that we all want love and attention and Jesus tells us to love each other. Whether we are humans or animals, we are at our best when love is shown. I now have a dog that follows me everywhere and enjoys human company. What a change!

I am never sure what I want in life is really what I need. My dog Sadie’s story is what I really needed at the time, and probably still need as there are times when I feel down and she really picks me up, giving that unconditional love.

God is able to do that in our lives, giving us love unconditionally if only we put our full trust in Him. I know that God’s love for me is unconditional – even more than Sadie’s love.

Pauline Cummins