I’ve come to realize that both get a bad rap.  Not that many years ago, I believed all the hype…a “Born Again Christian?” :::insert eye roll here:::!  My thoughts were, “Oh, good grief… they’re all Jesus-freaks in bible-thumping cults… they better not come banging on my door and stuffing their craziness down MY throat!” Pit Bulls?  “Fahgedaboudit!  They’re vicious…can’t be trusted…they’ll ‘turn on you one day’!”  Wow… I’m really ashamed of myself at how ill-informed I was on both counts.  I bought it all, just like wares from a snake oil salesman.  I bought it, alright — hook, line and sinker!  At that time in my life you could’ve sold me oceanfront property in Kansas…I’d have bought it.

Fast-forward to December of 2012… I already had two dogs… an Australian Shepherd and a Chihuhua.  I’ve always been a dog lover and owner, but unfortunately, I had lost two of my beloved dogs earlier that year.  All of a sudden, I found myself on PetFinder seeking to adopt a Pit Bull.   I have no idea where that came from but I was “on a mission”!  To make a very long story short, I found a four year old Pittie that needed a home.  When I went into the description for him, I noticed a little green heart that meant he was a “special needs” dog.  He was blind.  I didn’t care… I wanted to meet him.  I did so by attending an adoption event which he was at.  It was love at first sight… we adopted him.  He was the BEST dog ever!  We lost our beloved Poet a short seven months later very unexpectedly.  He changed our lives forever and we have since adopted the exquisite Sir William Poet, pictured above.

Being raised Catholic, I went through the motion of attending church on and off throughout the years.  I had been searching for “something different”… looking to connect with and having a relationship with Jesus Christ but I just didn’t know how.  On January 28th of this year I found a local, bible-based church through a Facebook acquaintance.  Stepping out of my Catholic comfort zone, I attended a service.  And there it was… all that I had been searching for, for years!  Turning my life over to Christ was a no-brainer…. He was waiting for me, all that time, with arms wide open.  Asking Him to forgive me of my sins and to be my Lord and Savior was as easy as loving-up on a Pit Bull!

I thank God for opening my eyes to the love and joy of owning Pit Bulls and of loving and living in Jesus.  I look at the world much differently now…. just like Planet Fitness, I’m a “judgment-free zone”.  Now that I know what I know about Pit Bulls and Born Again Christians, again, I’m ashamed that I bought into all the hype.

Today is a very special day for me… I’m taking the next step into obedience and I’m being baptized… publicly committing my heart and life to Jesus!  My very best friend from high school has joined my church and is doing the same!  We were somewhat hooligans in high school…. not bad kids, but we bucked the system every now and again… a couple of loud-mouthed, hard-laughing, life-of-the-party kinda gals.  Although our shenanigans have become somewhat tamed over the last three-plus decades, with marriage, kids, etc., we’re forever soul sisters and best friends on fire for Jesus!  I told our Pastor that they should pre-emptively hire a general contractor because we are gonna blow the roof off of our church TODAY!

People can negatively think what they want about Born Again Christians and Pit Bulls, but I’m so thankful that I opened my eyes, heart and mind to both.  I’m gonna wrap this up so I can go hang out with my dogs, especially the big, loveable blockhead who stole my heart and brings me as much joy and love as Jesus does.

Acts 3:19 – “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing come from the Lord.”

~Let Love Lead The Way~ TP