Life is full of surprises. We don't always get what we expected. A couple
of months ago we went to the local shelter and brought home a pretty black
lab puppy or so we thought. As she has matured we noticed her behavior is
not that of a lab. She is a border collie in black lab clothes. I had a
border collie when I was a boy and while I loved her dearly I had vowed not
to get another one. They have this very inbred behavior of wanting to herd
everything. She wants to round up people and keep them in a group. This is
accomplished by gentle nips on the back of legs. Fortunately we don't have
small children in the house. Well, it's too late now. We have fallen in
love and will live with this very sweet dog that wants all her people in one
place where she can see us.

Her latest adventure happened just an hour or so ago. She met our
neighborhood fox. Ouch! We are very glad she is up to date on her rabies
shot. It was a very scary encounter for both of them and her not so bad
wounds will quickly heal. She seems very happy to be inside right now.

I have seen both brides and grooms surprised after a few months of marriage.
They didn't quite get what they were expecting. Sometimes it is much better
than what they wanted and of course the opposite also happens. There are
very few sure things in life. Now comes the good part. There is one sure
thing. God loves you dearly. Jesus died to save you. Salvation is a gift.
Perhaps that's the greatest surprise of all.