A five day mountaintop reset with family and friends comes to an end today mostly because of my dog.

He’s in good hands but I miss his company and I’m returning a day early to surprise him.

Not sure my experience is healthy as he’s just a dog but I also hate when people say he’s just a dog when he represents so much more.

A warm little body who curls up against mine any chance he gets. The reassuring hug around my neck I never ask for but instinctively he knows when to give. The gaze into my eyes at random moments just to be sure I’m okay and that we’re good.

Dogs live solely to please us and care for us at times when human embrace is in short supply.

Yes, he’s just a dog but he’s a better human than most of humanity and sometimes we just need to return the favor.

It’s not confusion, or even a faulty premise that took a left turn somewhere.
But in those few minutes of an early morning conversation with God when you’re seeking some collective noun to describe an unsettling set of circumstances that, individually, don’t add up to much, but together seem overwhelming and more than you can wrap your head around even after a third mug of coffee.
This, my friends, is where God lives and works and demonstrates his namesake.
So while I chip away to find some meaning and purpose to this cluster of concerns before they take me down a rabbit hole into an abyss of emotions, thanks to God, my hope is already being knitted into a fine explanation and sensible outcome.
Mornings like these are the very essence of faith over fear.