My husband is fond of saying that dogs make the greatest pets because they’re so godly. You know the joke, “d-o-g” spelled backwards is “god.”
Okay, so being a cat person, I was never convinced. I’ve begun, however, to change my thinking about dogs because of our puppy, Mollie.
Mollie, isn’t a pedigree. She has no papers other than the ones she sneaks out of the bathroom wastebasket. She has no show ribbons other than the ones she snags from the pile of present wrappings at Christmas time.
When folks ask what kind of a dog Mollie is, the best answer we can give is that she’s “black.”
Mollie may not be a hi-brow doggie, but it turns out, she is spiritual. Or at least she’s taught me several important spiritual truths. Here are three spiritual truths I've learned from Mollie.
1. Mollie trusts that I will take care of her every need.
Mollie is enthusiastic when anyone is in the kitchen. Like the rest of us, she enjoys a good nosh and even a special dessert from time to time. But she never worries about where the next meal is coming from. There’s always something to chew until her food bowl gets filled. There’s always the toilet until her water bowl is replenished. She doesn’t dig a hole and bury her dog biscuits. She enjoys them when we give them to her and knows that she’ll have everything she needs for a healthy life.
Matthew 6:25-34 says: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
2. Mollie knows that even when I discipline her, I still love her. And even when I discipline her she still loves me.
Hebrews 12:16 says: …for those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines.
Mollie doesn’t like to be disciplined, but she knows when she has done something wrong. When she’s caught, her head hangs, her tail slips between her legs and she practically verbalizes her thoughts, “my bad!”
As a result, Mollie may have to go sit on her special carpet with a time out. Or she may have to go outside while we clean up a mess. Or she may get a stern “Mollie, no!” But she knows that we still love her. She is confident in our love because we have shown it to her consistently over the years. And even though she knows we’re not happy with her at that point, she still loves us, as evidenced by the dancing and prancing and licking and wagging that goes on when the discipline is over.
Mollie reminds me that God loves me, too, even when He’s disciplining me. I may have done something wrong, but His love shown to me over my lifetime has proven to me that He loves me with a constant, continuous and never changing love. I am confident in His love. And my love for Him remains, too.
3. Mollie sleeps the sleep of the blessed.
Philippians 4:7 says: And the peace that passes understanding shall keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
Ever watch a dog sleep? Makes a person a bit jealous. Sure, Mollie might twitch and twitter from time to time, but boy can she sleep! Any place, any time, in any position. On the floor, on the rug, on the couch, in a chair, on the grass, in her kennel, on our bed (sheesh!), under our feet, in our way…
And then she snores.
The point is that she has no worries. No burdens keep her awake. As soon as she takes that one deep breath, she closes her eyes and she’s out. It’s as if by letting out that breath, she’s giving all her daily efforts over to God. And she sleeps with a peace that surely passes my understanding.
I can learn to give my worries over to God, too, and let His peace fill me.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for making us teachable and for giving us examples in our lives of your spiritual truths. Help us to see more of your truth in scripture and around us. Thank you for loving us through it all. Amen.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you have a spiritual dog? Don’t worry…I’ll get to cats next. What spiritual lessons have you learned from your puppy?
2 comments:
Ok, so after reading your post about what Spot has taught you, I had to go back and read about Mollie...Our dog Zoey ,does, have papers, but all I think that makes her is, a little more crazy! Like your Mollie, she is overly excited about everything and anything to eat! For extra fiber, she gets the empty toilet paper rolls out of the bath trash can...We just put a baby-lock on our kitchen cabinet under the sink....where the kitchen trash is....otherwise , we are forever crawling under the table to pick up torn up napkins, papertowels, or even worse .....yup, I don't think she worries much about where her next meal is coming from....Zoey also doesn't like to be disciplined (at least , it doesn't look like it) She can tell from just the tone of my voice, if she is in the "doghouse"! But, then , she is always ready to give my foot a lick (yew) or give her tail a wag and look at me with her soulful eyes in a seemingly "but I still love you" experession ( I may be reading a lot into this...;\) And, ahhhh, the sleep....one moment wide awake, the next snoring and dreaming...on her stomach, her side, her other side, and finally on her back in the sleep of the content... unless she decides I need protecting, and then she is up like a shot and barking at the invisible enemy.... I cannot sleep, just anywhere...unlike Zoey, I don't want to be caught (or heard) snoring! ;))
@Paula - ah, yes, the empty toilet paper rolls. Actually, the full rolls provide even more fiber and more fun.
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