Marriage to Divorce

I come from a large, crazy family.  I have two brothers and four sisters.  My parents have been married forever.  My grandparents were married for 63-almost 64 years when my dear grandfather passed away.  The trophy hubby and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary in a couple of months.

Yet while we have a nice history of long, relatively happy marriages (seriously- there is always something new to deal with!), there are plenty of divorces and broken families.  Mental illness, addiction and simple selfishness have all played rolls in the decline of various relationships.

Being a Christian, I'm told that marriage is a union designed by God.  Marriage should be considered a sacred union.

Yet I've seen some relationships that are truly toxic.  One partner tries to be a good spouse while the other is an addict or suffering from a mental illness that they refuse to get help for.  And don't even get me started about when kids are involved.  Separating seems to be the best solution for all involved.

So where is the line?  What do you consider justifiable- religious or not- for terminating a marriage?

Placing Value

Two years ago this coming week, I went for my daily walk with our little Sheltie up to the bluffs along the shoreline of our lake.  The day had been unremarkable to that point- nothing unexpected.

That changed when I reached the bluff and a skinny, small dog ambled over to us from a wooded area off the dirt road leading to the bluffs.  I put myself between the new dog and our Sheltie- you never know.

The dog that obviously had pittbull in her came over to me with her head down and sniffed my hand.  That gesture was all she needed to claim me as her own.

Even as we approached anyone we saw to see if they knew where she'd come from, she stayed by my side.  We walked a long distance to the only home in the area to see if she'd wandered away from them.  She only had eyes for me the entire time.

I didn't know what to do and it occurred to me that I my trophy husband might not be happy if I brought this stray dog home with me.  But there was no way I could leave her there.  I decided that if she followed me home, we'd just have to take care of her until we found a good home for her.

The sweet thing ambled the entire mile with me home.  I didn't have to coax her to come with me once.

My youngest came out to meet her and the stray rolled onto her back for her.  We gave her food and water.  She drank the water but would only eat the food if we walked away.

The trophy hubby was a good sport about her being with us even after she tried to take off his hand when he reached out to pet her.  Twenty-four hours of bribing her with treats and she was his best buddy.

Even though we started to look for a home for the girl we would come to know as Lola, she became a member of our family too quickly to consider ever giving her away.

She is the trophy hubby's girl, my companion and our kid's protector.  There is always some ridiculous antic or part of her personality that has us laughing and shaking our heads at her.  (That is Lola in the photo- enjoying a car ride with the wind in her ears.)  She also eats and drinks just fine now- she's a healthy sized girl!

We know nothing about her except that she's given us her trust and her heart.  These are beautiful, blessed gifts.  Everything isn't perfect, but she tries.  So do we.

I can't imagine how anyone could discard a life like that- especially now that we know our Lola.  How could anyone just treat this precious life as if it didn't matter?  Why did someone think she was of no value?

Dogs that we rescue are beyond special.  They know you are special.

If you are thinking about adding a pet to your family, don't shy away from a dog with little or no background.  He or she may very well be the best thing to happen to you.