I'm not a "dog person." I suppose this stems from two facts. Within a few months of my parents adopting me in the summer of 1947, their beloved collie, Runabell, died. I grew up hearing the story of how my coming into the home diverted attention from Runabell until she died of a broken heart. Of course, I now know how silly that supposition was on the part of my parents. I also realize that this story was their way of honoring their long-term pet and expressing their fondness and affection for Runabell and the joy she brought to them during the fifteen long years of childlessness until I came into their lives.
The second reason I'm not a "dog person" stems from an unprovoked attack by a rabid dog in the early fall of 1952, as I made my way home from Kindergarden. I was rushed to the hospital and there endured the old-fashioned multiple stomach injections of rabies vaccine.
So, I'm not a dog person for good reason. Or, at least it seems like a good reason to me. Nevertheless, I do recognize the deep bond that can occur between someone and his or her pet. Such a person is my dear friend Marcia LaReau. So, with great joy and with her permission, I am pleased to share with you an anecdote that she sent me this morning.
Each day, Ernest, my dog, has a checklist of activities. We try to do them each day—not always in the same order or time and succeed most of the time. The list is:
- Each morning— trip to the back yard. Ernest is responsible with his bodily functions and Marcia cleans up. Then we play with "Ring" and "Tire" toys for about 10 minutes.
- Run next to bicycle—about 1.5 - 2 miles. I use words: "Look, look!" to indicate there is a squirrel sighting. "Mush" to go-faster (I think that is a universal word in dog-language). And, "take me home" or "let's go home" when we are almost done.
- "Time for a 'Bootie?'" ("Bootie" is a rawhide treat in the shape of a boot.) Ernest goes to his room and Marcia delivers his treat.
- School: Ernest has several toys, each with a name: "Blue," "Star," "Bow-tie," "Frisbee," "Bone," "Squeeky-toy," "Greenie," "Rattle," and "Rope." He's learning each by name along with some verbs. He's also learning how to extract those words from a sentence: So: "Find 'Bone' and put it in the bucket. Find 'Star' and put it in my lap. Hand me 'Squeeky-toy'," and so forth. There are other things, too. We play "Which hand?" I put a treat in one hand and show him both closed hands. He chooses one by nudging it with his nose. If the treat is there, he gets it, if not, he has to try again. We also play hide and seek with his toys, etc., etc.
- After dark we go out front of the house—no fence—and I have two lacrosse balls that I throw across the cul-de-sac and he chases them and brings them back. We bounce them all over the tarmac and he jumps and chases them. He loves this particular time. The session ends with the best part of his day—the "Popsicle!".
- "Wanna popsicle?" At that, he runs to the house and waits for me. Once in, he runs to his room and waits patiently. I go to the freezer where I have a set of seven marrow bones. Each one has canned dog food on each end, and cereal or whatever in the middle—all frozen. This is more than just his favorite treat. He only gets it when he is in his room. The idea is so compelling that even if he decides to chase a squirrel, if I say, "Wanna popsicle?" he will come running to me. I believe he is at the point where he will now come every time. It's really a security and safety measure from my point of view. And, I've worked hard to find something that would cause him to give up a squirrel chase.
So that's his routine. I suspect that he has a small smartphone somewhere on which he's tracking my progress each day and checking off his appointments. Perhaps he uses Google-calendar.
So, one day in the yard, he's doing his shtick of not wanting to give me "Ring-toy." I haven't been happy about that. I just wanted him to give it to me so I could throw it and get some of the energy out of him so he's comfortable for the rest of the morning. Yet, he always wants to play "Keep-away" and by having at least two toys, I can usually entice him with the second toy. That way we don't waste time while I try to get him to give me the toy, so I can throw it again. I also didn't like that he wasn't minding me when I said, "Bring Ring. ...give Ring."
This day I saw the look on his face when he was playing "Keep-away." It was so funny. He was engaging me, inviting me to chase him. I realized that I just wanted to get him exercised. But, he wanted to enjoy being with me. I gave chase and everything changed. I got him into the corner of the fence and he darted past with the "Ring." We were thoroughly enjoying each other and laughing, too. After five minutes of "chase," he actually wanted me to catch him and hug him. After a hug, he willingly relinquished the "Ring" on the ground and stepped back. Now it was time to chase "Ring" and exercise.
My life changed. It was now about giving him a good time. It was about enjoying each other. It was about (dare I use the word) being happy in our relationship.
It's been a few weeks since this revelation. Instead of having a good dog, and praising him and being pleased with him because he was minding me—all about control—I now look for ways to give him a good life, that we have fun and quality time together each day. School time should be fun for us both. For the first time, I've started really enjoying him. It dawned on me that some parents actually raise their children this way—wanting each day to be comfortable and filled with good things.
And, so it is with my relationship with our Father and Lord. I realized that they want to enjoy being with me, they want me to enjoy being with them. This whole "relationship" thing is much more than the obedience, and of course, never-ending gratitude. God wants to have an enjoyable time together with me.
This morning, it occurred to me that Jesus has overcome the world. So, I don't have to fear. And, since there is nothing that can change His dominion—"I am convinced that there neither things above, .... shall separate us from the love of Christ," Romans 8:38-39—that nothing need get in the way of an enjoyable relationship. It isn't about what I need, my concerns, etc. Those are taken care of. It's about finding ways to enjoy being with the Lord.
All the "stuff" in my life— health, physical pain, relationship issues— they are like "school-time" with Ernest. It's a time for the Lord to show me His path. He's already solved the problem. We can enjoy being with each other and I can learn how to live in a pleasing way.
This whole idea of enjoying each other—that God wants enjoyment in our relationship—is a huge shift in my understanding. Wow! God wants to enjoy His relationship with me, no less. He likes me! He loves me! And, He wants to spend time together.
As I was riding my bike with Ernest this morning, I realized that in my new relationship with him, I want every interaction to be a good one for him. I want him to always enjoy being with me because it's always a good time of affirmation. This is a huge change in the way I've raised my other four dogs. Then it dawned on me that God is not only "for" me and has only my best good in mind, but that He wants every interaction with Him to be a positive one as well. That makes it really easy to run to Him and "hide" in Him.
This is quite a paradigm shift for me, and I hope it is the path to that "abundant" life that I read about, but feel like I've been missing in terms of my "happiness." When I ask the question, "Where is the abundance of peace, joy, happiness?" I'm beginning to find the answer! So, the journey continues, but it is a much different, much better journey now.
I hope you enjoyed reading Marcia's anecdote as much as I enjoyed posting it for you. God truly is at work to will and to do of His good pleasure. It's wonderful to see how He moves to intersect with our lives and draw us irresistibly into His marvelous grace.
Incidentally, if you appreciate the "person" you sense in Marcia's anecdote and need help in finding a career, I would urge you to visit her website. Just click here to check out the variety of services Marcia offers at Forward Motion.
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