"We've been back to this shelter at least five times. It
has been weeks now since we started all of this," the
little girl's Mom tells the volunteer.

"What is it she keeps asking for? " the volunteer asked.

"Puppy size!" the Mom said, exasperated.

"We have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for."

"I know. We have seen most of them," she said in frustration.

Just then the young child came walking into the office.

"Well, did you find one?" her Mom asked hopefully.

"No, not this time," she said with sadness in her voice.

"Can we come back on the weekend?" the mom asked. The two
women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.

"You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately,
there's always a supply," the volunteer said.

The young child took her Mother by the hand and headed to
the door. "Don't worry, I bet we'll find one this weekend,
"the child said.

Over the next few days both Mom and Dad had long conversations
with the girl. They both felt she was being too particular.
"It's this weekend or we're not looking any more," Dad finally
said in frustration. "We don't want to hear anything more about
puppy size, either," Mom added.

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday
morning. By now the young child knew her way around, so she ran
right for the section that housed the smaller dogs. Tired of the
routine, Mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first
row of cages. The young girl walked slowly from cage to cage,
kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one the dogs
were brought out and she held each one. One by one she said,
"Sorry, you're not the one." Finally it was the last cage on this
last day in search of the perfect size puppy. The volunteer opened
the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held
it closely. This time she took a little longer.

"Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know
it!" she screamed with joy.Mom, startled by all the commotion,
came running.

"What? Are you sure? How do you know?" she asked.

"The puppy sighs!"

"This one is the same size as all the other puppies you held these
last few weeks," Mom stated.

"No, not size -- sighs! When I held him in my arms, he sighed," she
said.

"He sighed?"

"Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you
told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love,
the bigger the sighs"

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know
whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug her child, she
did a little of both. "Mom every time you hold me, I sigh. When you
and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I
knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my
arms," she said. Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said,
"Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart."

Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes
you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in
the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush
of cool air on a hot day. They are the sighs of God. The more you love
Him, the bigger the sigh.