Food to the Soul

                Love is powerful. Love has the ability to heal.  My mother reminded me of this when I was once in the throes of the most wrenching heartache I’d ever experienced in my entire life. I wasn’t getting the point so she reminded me of my puppy. Despite being a dog lover, I was totally opposed to being a pet owner. I didn’t want the responsibility.  All my reservation melted completely away once I laid eyes on him.  He was the most adorable, sweet, precious pup I’d ever seen.  I fell in love immediately.  Next thing I knew I had signed the adoption papers and a new lease on life.  We bonded instantly. The shelter I adopted him from allowed me to take him out to the field next to its building and run around and romp and play. A short time later we were in the car riding home. My husband drove, while I sat in the backseat with the puppy nestled on my lap.  A few days after having him home I noticed that my new friend was sneezing phlegm.  I took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with kennel cough. Thankfully I was on vacation from work and used my days to stay home and nurse him back to full health. My Mom told me the key to him getting better was not just diligent caregiving but love. She said his physical health was not just renewed, but his spirit. He’d gone from a timid, nervous little thing, to a vocal, thriving character. The love fed his soul. Zora Neal Hurston probably put it best when she said, “love makes your soul crawl out of its hiding place.” I long to experience the type of love that will do for me, what my love did for my precious pup. As I work on recovery from effects of the abuse I’ve experienced in my past, I am learning that in order to attract the love I yearn for, I first have to love myself. When we love ourselves the right way, we tend to attract people who will do the same – love us the right way. ©2013 Joy Lyn