Today my lab ate my Christmas present.

Today I learned one thing my husband got me for Christmas. You see, I walked downstairs and looked at my beagle, Pete, and he looked about as guilty as I have ever seen him. Then I saw my lab, Sammy, and he actually looked triumphant (the audacity of a dog). From past history (see blog archive "Today my dogs ate my daughter's guinea pigs"), I knew something was up but I had no idea what they had actually accomplished. I quickly tried to remember if I left the pantry door open or a box of cereal on the kitchen table but everything seemed to be in place. What had they done? Then I spotted it, under the Christmas tree. Not only had the dogs (most likely my lab) torn the wrapping paper off of the present, they also went on to remove the tissue paper the sales associate wrapped around the present for my husband. There laying on the floor was a Yankee Candle, lid off and everything. I carefully inspected it expecting to find teeth marks in the wax and there was nothing! Apparently, the smell was too much for my lab to ignore but in the end he was disappointed to find out that it really wasn't worth the effort. That made me think of all of the temptations I face everyday and wonder how hard I work to get what I want (even if it isn't what God wants) only to find out that God's way was best all along. So often, those things that I put so much effort into accomplishing didn't meet my expectation. On a side note, I emailed Yankee candles telling them about the alluring scent of their candles along with a picture of the destruction I found. I am happy to say that they also found humor in my situation and responded with the following email. "Dear Bev, Thank you for your wonderful email and picture. We all enjoyed it. We are very happy you and your furbabies enjoy our fragrances." Hopefully, it won't take an over eager lab for you to see what things are worth putting your time into today!