[DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_SOCIAL_ICONS]

Meet Shaggy. When we first moved to our property, he greeted us in our front yard with nervous barking. When we tried to approach him, he skittishly ran away from us. We quickly realized he was homeless and starving. His hip bones visibly protruded beneath his matted fur. I began putting big bowls of dry dog food mixed with Alpo and dog treats out for him every day.

At first he watched warily from across the road as I placed the dog food bowl on the ground in our yard. As soon as I walked away, he ran to the bowl and hungrily gobbled it all up. Within a couple of weeks he looked much better. He had fattened up and obviously had much more energy; he even started chasing cars.

Eventually I was able to coax him near enough to grab chunks of hot dogs out of my hand. But he still has never let me touch him. Maybe he never will. Shaggy is his own dog; he’ll never be mine. But I’m HIS person now and I’ll keep feeding him as long as he comes around.

Lately he has been more standoffish. Hot dogs no longer lure him in. Now that he is no longer hungry, he doesn’t think he needs me anymore. Now when I call him and put his dog bowl down, he stares at me indifferently and ambles away. He’ll come back and eat it later whenever he feels like it. He doesn’t realize that the only reason he is so fed and full is because I am the one feeding him.

Aren’t we so like this with God during bountiful times when He has blessed us? Those are the times we tend to grow apathetic in our faith. We feel like we are doing fine in our plenty without His help. We can forget that all of our good gifts come from Him in the first place. May we never forget His blessings!