Biting and Devouring

The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. Galatians 5:14-15 (NIV)

Although Sky is nine and Lucy only two, the girls as we call them, are closer than sisters. They are best friends as only dogs, loyal and companionable can be. They sleep side by side, dig holes together, sniff for moles, eat horse poop out of the same pile, bark at the golf carts and are inseparable. As Sky has aged, she had developed some eye allergies, and Lucy grosses us out by taking on the job of keeping Sky’s eyes and ears clean by licking her. When Lucy had some surgery a few months ago and had to be crated until she healed, Sky seemed lost without her. Sky’s eyes are starting to get cloudy so she relies on Lucy to help her with their favorite past time, hunting squirrels. Now, don’t call PETA on me. They never catch them. Even one time when a squirrel lost its balance and dropped out of a tree at Lucy’s feet, she missed snatching it up before it came to and got away. But, they love to try. Lucy can see them from a long distance. Sometimes, she sneaks up on them, creeping low against the ground like a wolf. When she gets within striking distance, she sprints towards her prey, but we have so many trees in our yard, there is always a place of refuge for the squirrels. Then, she dances around the base of the tree, running in circles or putting her front feet against the trunk as high as she can reach. “Come down here you fuzzy tailed rat. You pest!” She barks and yelps, but to no avail. What she doesn’t realize is the squirrel has already gone from one tree to another through the upper branches and is mocking her from clear across the yard. By now, Sky has waddled out to the tree and is also howling at the non existent squirrel. This is the only time I see the two of them angry at each other. They play fight all the time, but when there is a squirrel in the tree and it is inaccessible, they often take their frustrations out on each other and one will attack her sister. Not with enough force to do any harm, but teeth are shown, growling ensues and one submits with a yip and a whine. The fuss is usually over before it begins and the victor stands over her sister who is pinned to the ground. It always reminds me of how quickly we can turn on those we love even though our goals are the same. First, they’re both after that squirrel focused on bringing it home for dinner, then, seconds later, they’re snapping at each other. Sadly, even churches suffer from discord and arguing. As Christians, we need to remember to keep our eyes on God, to love each other and refrain from envy and pride that causes the conflicts. Otherwise, we’re no better than a couple of dogs chasing after squirrels.