There are occasional events that transpire in life which appear to be a measure of chance, yet in reflection, seem as if they were crafted by a God of love. The following is a story of one such event.

I was driving home when I saw the dog on the street. She looked flustered and sad. She had not only caught my eye but also that of another neighbor. We both were about to leave on vacation so it was a toss up as to who would take responsibility for the dog.

A storm was brewing and I relented to putting her in my backyard. My wonderful next door neighbor said she would feed the dog while I was gone.

The last thing I needed was another expense. I had gone two years without an income and feeding a dog did not come cheap.

Yet when I brought this to the attention of my Heavenly Father He reminded me of a wonderful shopping trip that we had recently gone on where I walked out with loads of cat food and litter with barely a penny spent. (I always take God shopping. He is a very savvy spendthrift and loads of fun.)

So I knew that this was planned. Yet I still had no income. The one thing I did have was wonderful friends. One of my dear friends knew my financial situation and asked me to meet him at Costco. I thought that was an interesting dating location but i am always game for new adventures so I met him.

That dear man blessed me with the necessities I needed and also enough dog food for several weeks. That was such a wonderful gift it still warms my heart.

But alas, there were problems with this dog. She barked at all hours and when I would take her in the house, she would soil my carpet. (Thank God for my steam cleaner)

Then in October another storm rolled in. She started barking and I knew one of my neighbors had just come home from an exhausting trip so I took the dog in for the night. I didn’t get any sleep but I was hoping my neighbor did.

I woke up to a mess on my carpet. At that point I was ready to see if the dog would run off. I opened the gate to my backyard and she took off. I was so happy and I realized she had never really been my dog to begin with.

I had just one lingering problem. Left over dog food. I prayed about it asking God what to do with the blessing of dog food. Within a week I found out that one of my patients was in financial straits and he had a dog. I will bless him with some of the food and bless my neighbors with the rest of the food.

When I reflected on this story I realized that it started with a storm and ended with the same. Yet there was such a circle of compassion intertwined, that all that remains in my memory is a rainbow of love.