Abundance

On a return trip to the resort we are staying at, our bus driver stopped at a fueling station. As passengers disembarked, we were met by an athletic looking four legged mumma dog. She was very friendly and it took a lot for me to resist petting her. With my wary husband by my side, warning me not to touch, I managed to keep my distance. I left the building to return to the bus, food in hand, alone. I seized the opportunity to feed the adorable greeter, taking a potato wedge from my boxed food. The dog sniffed, then looked at me as if to say, got anything else? Her nose had touched the wedge and I said, "take it, I'm not giving you a piece of chicken sweetie!" Wagging her tail, she remained hopeful. I threw the potato wedge into the grass and started walking away. When I looked back, the wedge remained where it had landed, clearly inedible for this particular pooch. I was hungry. I ate the remaining wedges, along with the purchased fried chicken. Clearly what was not fit for a dog, was good enough for me. Which makes me wonder, what we can convince ourselves of when options are eliminated or appear to be? Do our standards drop out of a false sense of desperation? 

The word Panama has several meanings. I recall two of the words our tour guide used to describe Panama, abundance and butterflies. The dog in our story, the mom, she is Panamanian. She knows something about abundance and it shows in her sunny disposition. She is not desperate, ravenous, a taker of anything that comes her way. She is selective and choosy and if I may attribute human qualities to our four legged furry friend, she has elegant dignity. She is what might be described as refined. Am I comparing humans to a dog, you ask? Perhaps, in some ways. The dog has natural instincts, so do we. The dog could choose, so can we. The dog knows that where there is some, there is more…so do we? Do you believe in abundance Dear One? Does what you see is what you get sound like you? Or is there more, just around the corner, if you choose to wait, believing that the best is yet to come? Scraps from the table are not good enough for you Dear One, expect more, wait for it, believe it is yours for the asking and taking, and abundance will be yours. John 10:10  "The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I've come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." There is a roaming liar that wants you to settle for less than what is best for you. He wants you to take whatever comes your way in desperation. He is a manipulative thief, stealing away your belief in what is possible, what is available. If he can, he will destroy your life by having you believe in limiting options. Jesus wants you to know that He offers you life with abundance, that it can be yours. Who do you believe, Dear Reader? The choice, as always, is yours.