Friends

Do you ever get the feeling that God knows exactly what you need, exactly when you need it? Of course He does, but I forget this daily. Luckily, God reminds me daily (how cool to have a God who is so patient and loving that He would give me the same reminder over and over). This week I have been inundated with friends who have known exactly what I need to hear. They have known when they need to be serious and when they need to get me to laugh, when they need to listen and when they need to distract me. Here is one time in particular. Now, as a counselor, when I am not in counseling mode, I don't often function as a counselor (meaning I don't often "psychoanalyze" my friends). Well, I was at work and was talking to one of my coworkers about life in general. I was in a pretty bad mood, so she was trying to lighten the mood for me. She got all situated in her chair and in a very professional voice said "Teresa, tell me how you feel right now." I answered by slouching in my chair and announcing "I feel like crap!" And she, in true counselor mode said, "Teresa, crap is not a feeling. Do you want me to get my feeling blocks out so you can pick a better word to describe how you are feeling?" I laughed. Out loud. For a long time. And felt a lot less like crap.

On a sadder note, I found out today that my brother and sister-in-law are going to have to put their dog to sleep in the morning. Jenny's health has been declining for the last couple of years. But she has lost a lot of weight recently and is almost completely blind. My sister-in-law, Ann, had gotten Jenny many years ago somewhat by accident. For those of you who don't know Ann, she loves animals and has one of the kindest hearts. She went to a ladies house to look at a litter of puppies. The woman told Ann that she had found the pregnant mother and was caring for her and the litter until she could find homes for the puppies. When Ann got to the house, there was only one puppy left. In true Ann fashion, she asked what would happen to the mama when all the puppies were gone. The lady told her that she was going to take the mama to the pound. So, instead of taking the last puppy, Ann promised to take the mama. That's how Jenny ended up with Ann. She was one of the sweetest dogs I've met.