I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 1:14 (NIV)
Our Lucy is the most observant dog we ever had. She sees and hears everything and even some things that are not there. She can be sound asleep on the couch, then, jump up and run to the front window to bark at a bicyclist. It is amazing since we are set way off the road and there are a lot of trees between our house and the street. I can’t imagine how she can see much less hear who is out there. She is frantic each weekend as we are on the bicycle race route and hoards of them go by early (very early) each morning. The kids in golf carts love to tease her by driving slow. Once we open the door to let her out, she leaps off the front porch and races to the fence. Then, they speed up and encourage her to chase them by yelling at her. I just hope the gate never gets left open. She will make mincemeat out of their tires if she ever catches them. She chases the horses as well which is a bad habit that I am trying to break her of. She gets started when they lay down to roll in the sand. She cannot stand it that they are on her level and runs in circles around them barking. She doesn’t stop when they get up, however, and then, it becomes a game of tag. I am afraid that she is going to get kicked in the head one day. There is another thing that she chases, and it is very funny to watch. At least for a while. She is fascinated by grasshoppers. She cannot leave them alone if she sees them in my garden. She stalks them just like a cat with a mouse. She will lay down waiting for them to spring, then, she jumps right behind them and smacks at them with her paws. If one gets on my rose bushes, she stands and stares at it for a long time just waiting for it to move. Of course, it munches away on the leaves while she waits. She prowls around the bushes, sniffing and poking, but she never catches one. It is not for a lack of trying. Unfortunately, instead of scaring away the grasshoppers, her efforts result in holes that expose plant roots, flattened bushes and bent limbs. I am sure the roses cringe when they see her coming. A grasshopper can strip a bush in time, but Lucy does much more damage in her quest to catch one. She reminds me of Solomon’s words which he repeats throughout Ecclesiastes, “a chasing after the wind,” which means a futile effort. He talks of investing in the things of this world and how chasing after riches or wisdom or the praise of man is worthless. He concludes that the only thing worth chasing is God. How about you? What are you chasing today? Ignore the grasshoppers, look for the Creator instead.
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