My journey of becoming free is so illustrated in my little rescue dog Bella. Let me tell you her story.
Bella was a puppy mill victim. She lived most of her life in a metal cage, existing only to breed puppies. She didn't really know the touch of a human, or soft carpeting , treats or fun playing with other dogs. She was rescued from the puppy mill by a Lab rescue organization in KY. We drove the 10 hours to see the labradoodle puppies that the rescue org had that weekend. We fell in love with a cute little white labradoodle puppy and it was really hard to decide. Bella was in a cage all by herself, and so defeated that she didn't respond at all to us. No barking, or growling, or moving away from us. Vera was the one who went into the large cage and sat with her and tried to get her to respond to us. For about 2 hours we talked and tried to interact with her, and tried to decide which dog would work best for us and for Bailey our 1 yrs golden doodle.
Here is Bella at the rescue organization. She was so matted, had horrible breath and infected ears.
I was reminded of another rescue story and God put it on my heart to talk to the girls about their own rescue. Deanna was crying and so upset because she had her heart set on the puppy, but when I asked them to think about what would happen to Bella, and what would have happened if I hadn't adopted them- what if I only wanted a baby or a cute little toddler, where would they be ???
In the end we took Bella. He name was Kayla, but we changed her name as we drove back to our home in VA. We loved the name Bella and felt it was a pretty name for a little girl and it sounded so cute with Bailey. Bailey and Bella, our two dogs.
Here she is on her first day as Bella- we groomed her and started her transformation! Her eyes are still so fearful and empty.
It is now almost a year since she came into our life. At first it was difficult to watch her, the fear of everything- fans, people, doors, yards, etc. Bella wanted to go outside, but was scared to death to go out the door. She wouldn't come back in either. In fact most people didn't know I even had a 2nd dog, because she would hide most of the time.
God intervened in Bellas' life about 4 months ago. Somehow, she made the decision to trust- to let go of her fear, to be happy, to wag her tail at us, to let us pet her, love her. It is a joy to watch her now. She has come so far!
When I think about my own walk in being free, Bella reminds me that I have to make the decision to "BE FREE". To walk in freedom means I have to let go of my fear, my anxiety, to make the choice to love and be loved.
So each time I pet my Bella, I thank God for the picture of faith and freedom he has given me!



