“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people.” (Isaiah 65:18-19a NASB).
This was not how it was supposed to be. Getting a dog was Ryan’s idea; he picked it out; he made the arrangements; he planned to take care of it. But two weeks ago, I found myself driving alone to pick up our new puppy. During that 45 minute trip, I reflected on how almost everyone was more excited about this puppy than me. My anxiety was off the chart affecting my GERD issue once again. Thank you body for channeling my stress into pain. How come every time something “good” happens in my life my mind comes up with a million reasons why I shouldn’t be happy about it.
The puppy’s ride home was another trial. I knew the interstate was backed up with DC traffic heading out for the weekend. I took another route and still got stuck in a backup stemming from a police car and trailer truck blocking one side of the road. The poor puppy squeaked and squeaked until finally he gave up. No one was coming to save him. I’d torn him away from everything he knew to travel in the backseat alone to an unknown destination. This was not how it was supposed to be. Ryan was supposed to be here, helping, comforting, but instead he was out of town with work for several days. It was just me and the puppy, and I felt more alone than before I had picked him up.
As God clothed Adam and Eve in animal skins and forced them out of the Garden of Eden, I’m sure He thought, “This is not how it was supposed to be.” When God created everything, it was all “very good.” But within a few pages of scripture, as if we are reading the intimate diary of the Lord, it says, “So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:6 NASB). We have been given the privilege of knowing not just what happened in the past but also how God felt about it. And even though His heart was broken, God was never far from His people. They were not alone.
Sin was not supposed to be part of our experience. God was sorry that sin intervened causing such destruction; however, every time His people returned to Him He listened even if they were neck deep in sin. Love is a powerful motivator. My love for Ryan is the only reason I agreed to get a puppy at all. Through God’s love, evident in the plan of salvation, we can rest assured that although things will never be how they should have been in the beginning, that God will “be glad in [His] people” once again. We are not alone.