Outside of cutting your fingernails, have you ever really stopped and thought, “Hey, that’s kind of weird. The calcium in my body builds up at the tip of my fingers and creates this hard, shell-like ‘thing’ that really serves absolutely no purpose.” Hmm, I’m pretty sure I’ve never stopped to think that (Until, of course, I started writing this blog). Now, have you ever cut one of your fingernails a little too much? All of the sudden this seemingly useless function of the body causes more discomfort & pain than getting a prostate exam when you’re constipated w/ stomach cramps. (Ok, my apologies for the graphic exaggeration – And for the record, NO, I’ve never had a prostate exam, but I can imagine!).

Quite a while back, I had a fairly ugly breakup w/ a girl I almost married. We had a son together – Kobe. (Ok, so it’s a little 12 lb dog, but it’s the closest thing I’ll probably ever have to a son!) We saved him from getting put down at the shelter and spoiled him rotten for a couple of years. He lived w/ his mom most of the time, so when we broke up, it made sense for her to keep him. After all, me being the softy that I am, I couldn’t bring myself to break her heart by taking her to court for him (All the paperwork was done in my name).

Last night, I got to see Kobe again. I was fidgety & nervous on the way there. My heart was pounding and my palms were sweaty. I’m pretty sure I burned about 1,000 calories during the 45 minute drive to Pleasant Hill. I even laughed at myself thinking, “Wow, you’re a loser. It’s a dog.” When I got there, they opened the door and let him come upstairs. I got down on one knee, still scared that he might not remember me. Kobe walked up the stairs, turned the corner and looked up at me. The second he saw me, he darted at me in a full sprint and jumped into my arms! His little tail was wagging at lightning speed! He was whimpering & whining and could barely contain himself! At that moment, my heart melted like the Lakers against Phoenix in last years playoffs. I tried to hold back the tears trying to squeeze their way out of my eyes, but I couldn’t.

When I left that house last night, I felt like someone removed my heart & replaced it with a medicine ball. While I was driving home I thought about the lyrics from a Mute Math song called “Noticed” – “I can’t believe I never noticed my heart before.” Wow! I successfully live my life with my head, relinquishing my heart to about the significance of my fingernail. In other words, I barely even notice my heart exists until it hurts.

What an important thing to miss! As I continued to think along these lines, I was blasted by how much God was teaching me through a dog! I’ve always done a great job at explaining away failed situations by saying, “It must not have been God’s will” or “God just shut the door on that situation because He has/had something better for me.” But, what if all my pre-conceptions about this were wrong? What if me never stopping to notice what my heart was saying has led me to the place I’m at today? What if I’ve always pushed away situations, people and blessings in my life because I chose to override my heart with my head? Unfortunately, “What If’s” are never answered. And even worse, I fear that I’ve used God as an excuse for my own failures.

So, what’s the lesson in all of this? God is love – Literally he defines himself that way. Love is an affection of the heart. You cannot experience love through logical reasoning, because it’s illogical! I love Kobe w/ all of my heart! He doesn’t assist me, compensate me or provide me with any valuable benefit whatsoever. It’s illogical to love him so much – and that’s how I know that I do. If you want to fully experience and know God, you have to do that through the avenue of your heart. There’s a reason it’s been said that He lives there – It’s probably time we all went and checked out his place.

Oh – And get a dog. You never know how much they can teach you about yourself