From Stray to Emotional Support Animal: The Repurposing of Alani Shoemaker




    The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15, NIV

    On August 31, 2022, our lives forever changed. We adopted our first puppy dog as a family. Our new pet was a scrawny, black-and-white Belgian Malinois mix from the local animal shelter. We prayed for God to send us the right one. Out of all of the dogs there, she was the one who came wagging her tail and licking our hands. Thus our adoption of Alani Shoemaker was complete. Now she has the privilege of being dressed up occasionally in costumes and winter coats. She's taken to festivals and even vacationed in the Great Smoky Mountains to receive her Bark Ranger badge. So is the life of a Shoemaker pet. 
    
    While I recognize that a blog on animals is a stretch for a repurposing blog dealing with crafts, there is a fundamental truth about Alani's repurposing. Before Alani became our pet, she was one of many animals found at the shelter. Although the shelter took terrific care of her, she had no family. In some sense, she was aimless without a family to love and protect. Her innate biological purpose as a shepherd dog breed was unfulfilled. Yet her life changed in a single moment. She became a beloved part of our family. Now she loves, watches, and serves us as an emotional support pet. She's found a new purpose for her life as our beloved dog.
    


    
    
        The spiritual principle is this. Before we accept Christ, we are lost and aimless. As Alani, the Malinois mix, had lost the purpose she was designed for, to love and protect her family, we humans lost our goal to reflect the image of God. By sinning, we failed to make God's glory known worldwide. Our sin kept the likeness of God from being seen. Yet the Holy Spirit, by his grace, sets us free from the following of sin and gives us the grace to faithfully bear the resemblance of our Father, who is good. Furthermore, it's only through our adoption of faith in Christ that we become the sons of God, who are enabled by the Holy Spirit to make God's glory known to the world. We're repurposed by our adoption into God's family by faith. Our life which was filled with the aimless practice of sin is transformed into one of fearless devotion to God and our family in Christ. Now we can forever cry out to him as our merciful Father. Like Alani's life, our purpose changes in one simple moment. It changes at the moment when we ask God to save us and bring us into his family.

Blessings in Christ,
Jane Shoemaker



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