First United Methodist Church of San Diego, California, United States In Real Life for Friday, 9 January 2015 "Taking Inventory" by Jan Newton

First United Methodist Church of San Diego, California, United States In Real Life for Friday, 9 January 2015 "Taking Inventory" by Jan Newton

"Taking Inventory" For the last eight or nine years, we have tried to make it a tradition in the Newton household to take a family photo on New Year's Day. In addition to capturing the subtle changes in our hair and clothing styles as the years progress, it is also a good way for us to keep track of how many dogs we have and who they are! My husband (with a lot of encouragement from our daughter) is a notorious dog collector—'Softie' I call him—who spends a lot of hours at a local no-kill shelter walking the dogs deemed "too wild" or "too strong" for the other volunteers to take out. Many of these dogs have been waiting upwards of three years to be adopted and on occasion David gets very attached to one, sells me on their hard-luck story, and then brings them home to live with us. Looking back on our photos over the years and remembering all of the fun that we have had trying to get everyone to face forward at the same time makes me think about how God must take "inventory" of us. Much like a loving parent, I imagine Him to watch us with love and joy as we experience the ups and downs of our daily lives, taking great delight when we make the time to spend with Him and recognize all that He provides for us. We all have a hard-luck story of some kind, but we also all have a Heavenly Father who loves us greatly and provides so much for us. It is good to take inventory of these things and be a part of the inventory process too. I am delighted to be counted among God's many beloved and precious children, never too wild or too strong to be a part of God's family.[Jan Newton]

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