This is the 7th of a series of 15 devotionals from the late 80s when my oldest sons were just little boys …

Wives, if you think you’ve got a difficult husband situation, you should put yourselves in Diana’s shoes for just a moment.

Our dog – the ugly white one that I didn’t like very much – just disappeared one day early in January. We never found any information as to what happened. The kids were a bit upset, and I’ll admit I even missed seeing the dog run out to greet me when I pull into the driveway.

I was checking the SPCA about once a week to see if the critter might show up there. After several weeks with no success, a cage of nice little beagle-type puppies caught my eye. After about a good 15 to 20 seconds of consideration, I reached in, grabbed the one closest to the door, paid $15 and brought it home in a brown grocery bag.

On the way home it began to dawn upon me that Diana might not appreciate the surprise quite as much as the boys. I needed help, so I stopped at the church office to solicit some prayer support from the secretary. I was also interested in securing overnight arrangements in the event that I would be sent to the doghouse sooner than the puppy.

I called the family together, and even before the kids opened the bag to see what was inside, Diana’s lips were formed into a hard, thin line. Her head was drooped, her eyes rolled upward, and she was inhaling a long, deep breath. I could tell you more, but this is an article on life with my three sons, not life with my long-enduring and forgiving wife.

The boys flipped out – it was great! Every night, they come to me and hug me and thank me for bringing them the puppy. And it is the puppy now that stands in need of prayer – a moment of peace is difficult to come by for this dog.

It was a delight for me to give the boys a good gift that they liked so much. In Matthew 7:7-11 we read that God, our heavenly father, is more ready to give good gifts to his children than we loving, yet imperfect fathers are willing to give good gifts to our children. We earthly fathers have our imperfections, our self-centeredness. We are “evil.”  God, having no imperfections, is even more ready to give good gifts to his children.

We should therefore, with all of the spontaneity of a child, ask for what we want; and beyond that we may expect that we have a wise Father who will love us and give it to us if it is good for us to have.