Rambo-nanza...the beginning

Well, I've told you about the love of  my life, David, but I had a first love (besides Jesus).  I want to introduce you to my furry, four-legged friend, Rambo.  Graduate school was one of darkest and loneliest times of my life, and I thought I needed a companion.  Yes, I had things a little backwards at the time.  Literally.  G-O-D spelled backwards is D-O-G.  Okay, bad joke.  I searched for a puppy.  I found Rambo on Petfinder.com (yes, you can find true love on the internet).... a precious little jack russell, rat terrier mix puppy.  How could you turn away from this sweet face?

Rambo's Picture on Petfinder.com

I went for a visit and it was love at first sniff ... or lick in Rambo's case.  He can't control his licker, as we like to say.  I signed the adoption papers and took him home with me!

Kisses from Rambo

Adoption Day: March 20, 2004

One problem.  His adoptive name was "Twinkie."  I couldn't live with having a male dog with the name "Twinkie."  I mean seriously???  Thankfully, he didn't respond to that name yet!  Therefore, I decided to overcompensate and give him a hyper-masculine name--RAMBO.  Perfect.  Especially, since he was full of energy.  So, he became my Rambunctious Rambo.


He has been the best addition to my life!  It is wonderful to have someone (okay, something) to come home to that is always happy to see you.  His tail never, and I mean NEVER, stops wagging!  We have been inseparable ever since (he is napping right next to me at the moment)!  Rambo loves to cuddle and is always there when I have a bad day!  He is the most loving creature I've ever met.  He greets everyone with kisses, and all he asks for is a little belly rub.  He is smart, playful, and thinks he's human (is that a bad thing?).  He couldn't hurt a fly.  You can yell at him, and probably hurt him, and he would come right back to you with unconditional love.  

Sleeping like a human, after I've gotten up for the day.

Dogs are special animals.  How often do we show them attention when we want something in return, such as when we've had a bad day.  But as soon as we get busy, we don't give them a second thought.  We can forget to feed them, and they don't get mad!  Regardless, every day, when we come home, there they are with the same response ... a wagging tail, just happy to see us home.  


This reminds me of our often fickle relationships with Jesus.  Everyday, He offers us a free gift of unconditional love and a relationship with him.  He wants to communicate with us daily.  But how often do we ignore Christ?  Either our lives seem to be going well, or maybe we are just too busy.  We don't think we NEED Him, until something happens.  Then, we remember that He is there.  Sometimes by that point, we are angry at Him because we didn't get what we want or life didn't work out the way we think it should have.  We hurl insults at him, ignore him, or blame him for the poor choices we made.  Is that really fair?  Thankfully, Jesus is going to remain faithful.  

"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, 

slow to anger, abounding in love. "

Psalm 103:8 

That doesn't mean there won't be consequences for our behavior, but He will be right by our side loving us along the way while we pick up the pieces.  Deuteronomy 31:6 says, "he will never leave you nor forsake you."  The Lord will meet us where we are with unconditional love, but he wants more.  He wants a DAILY relationship with us.  He wants to communicate with us daily and wants us to live out our faith each day.  This is the challenge Jesus gave his disciples: 

"Then he said to them all; 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.'" 

Luke 9:23-24

He challenges us to love others like He loved us!  This is where we will truly find life and joy in our lives, when we make the most of our relationship with the Lord.  Perhaps we should think about how we treat this most important relationship.  How much attention do you give your relationship with Jesus?  

Rambo-nana

And don't worry ... there will be many more Rambo stories to come in future blogs!     ;-)