This week, our daughter and son-in-law came home for a quick visit to handle some work-related obligations and reconnect with a few friends. Along with their luggage, they brought their two dogs.
Add those two to our one-year-old German Shepherd, Teddy, and suddenly we had three dogs, three very different personalities, and enough chaos to keep us on our toes all week long.
To say these dogs gave us a run for our money would be an understatement.
Our daughter and son-in-law had various activities planned throughout the week, which meant we got the privilege of spending lots of quality time with the dogs. Teddy was thrilled. In his mind, visitors had arrived, and life couldn’t get any better.
The other two dogs? Not so much.
They were older, calmer, and quite honestly seemed a little annoyed by Teddy’s endless enthusiasm. While Teddy bounced around excitedly, they looked at him as if to say, “Please settle down.”
But Teddy remained completely unmoved.
No matter how much the other dogs ignored him, no matter how many times they gave him “the look,” Teddy refused to let their mood affect his own. He stayed joyful. He stayed excited. He stayed authentically and unapologetically himself.
He didn’t change who he was to gain acceptance. He didn’t tone down his enthusiasm because others weren’t matching his energy. He wasn’t concerned with fitting in or being understood. Teddy simply showed up as the joyful, positive dog God created him to be.
And honestly, there’s a lesson in that for all of us.
Somewhere along the way, many of us learn to shrink ourselves, dim our light, or adjust our attitudes based on the reactions of others. But Teddy reminded me that there is freedom in being comfortable with who God created you to be. Not arrogant. Not insensitive. Just secure enough to remain joyful, hopeful, and positive regardless of what is happening around you.
Watching him this week made me think about life.
How often do we allow circumstances, or the attitudes, opinions, and behaviors of others, to determine our joy? How many times do we walk into a room feeling positive and leave carrying someone else’s frustration? How often do we surrender our peace because things aren’t unfolding the way we expected?
The truth is, life has a way of bringing both calm and chaos. Some days feel smooth and predictable. Other days feel like three dogs running through the house with completely different agendas.
Yet in the middle of it all, God invites us to maintain our peace.
One scripture that came to mind this week was Isaiah 26:3:
“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Maybe that’s what Teddy unintentionally taught me this week.
Peace isn’t the absence of chaos. Peace is maintaining your composure in the middle of it.
It’s learning to enjoy the journey even when everything around you feels noisy and unpredictable. It’s trusting God through the ups and downs. It’s choosing joy when circumstances suggest otherwise.
It’s waking up each day and deciding that your attitude belongs to you and God, not to the opinions, moods, or actions of everyone around you.
So here’s my encouragement for this week:
Don’t allow the world to steal your joy. Don’t allow someone else’s bad day to become your bad day. And Most Importantly, Don’t allow temporary circumstances to rob you of lasting peace.
Like Teddy, stay excited about the blessings God has placed in front of you. Stay hopeful. Stay joyful. Stay expectant.
And above all, enjoy the journey and embrace the moments—even the chaotic ones.
After all, sometimes God uses three dogs with three different personalities to remind us what peace really looks like.
