Daily Devotion by Carolyn Kercsmar

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose”. Romans 8:28

The search for our first family dog began with our 12-year-old son launching a campaign to find a rescue puppy. Leads were sparse, and as the summer neared its end, we still were dog-less. Ben finally found a promising ad. The seller acquired the pup along with her daughter who returned home from college for the summer. However, as her daughter prepared to return to school, the owner decided the puppy should be re-homed. My children were ecstatic with this adorable pup. However, 24 hours post-adoption, I received a call from a young woman identifying herself as the daughter of our pup’s former owner. She explained that her mother was a recovering alcoholic who had not had a drink in several months. The puppy was a deliberate purchase whose care, and companionship would help keep her mom busy and sober when her daughter returned to college. Her mom was distraught over giving up the puppy, and her daughter implored me to return the dog (she even offered to refund twice the selling price).  When I explained the situation to my children, unfairness was decried, tears and disappointment abounded. But soon, they decided that returning the pup to help someone who needed her more than we did, was the right thing to do. The wait and search continued.

A few weeks later, my best friend delivered a photo of a 6-week-old yellow Labrador retriever; she fortuitously found a breeder with a litter for sale and placed a deposit on one of the pups. We named our new family member Maera, after a loyal hound in Greek mythology who was turned into a star upon her death. 

Maera proved to be the perfect dog: loving, calm, smart, and gentle from the moment we got her. Although never challenging, destructive, or aggressive, she was always protective of my children. There was always “something” about that dog. Her presence was palpable, settling, kind, intuitive. Non-dog lovers found her endearing. A woman who I did not know but often walked by our house when Maera was in the yard stopped once to tell me that our dog had “an angelic countenance”. It was an accurate observation. 

Our path to a first dog was long, involved making a difficult but right decision to place someone else’s needs above ours, and we were blessed with a gift from God.