 |
| From Left: Lucy, Summer, Sai and Cory |
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (The Message)
It’s a dog’s life around here these days. We currently have four dogs residing in our house, my Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Cory, who is less than four months old, husband’s almost six year old Doberman, Lucy, oldest son’s six month old Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Sai, and youngest son’s eighteen month old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Summer. Four dogs is a lot to manage. When they are outside, they all run in a pack, but they get too wild in the house and separating them helps to keep them calmer and under control. But, in the house, most of the time, we divide them up by size, keeping the bigger dogs in the living room and keeping the smaller dogs in the kitchen and breakfast room. A baby gate divides the pairs. Youngest son talked us into getting a new chew bone for Lucy, a deer antler, but we did not buy one for the little dogs thinking it might hurt their baby teeth. Summer is only here for a few days and left hers at home. I allowed all of them into the living room tonight, knowing that they were tired after a long day of play. I am not sure how it happened, but the youngest dog ended up with the deer antler. Cory has been munching on it for a while as the older dogs stared at her in disbelief. I am very surprised neither forced her to give it up to them. They have size and strength on their side, but other than a few whines, neither Lucy nor Summer growled or intimidated her. However, Sai, quietly went to lie down beside her. Rolling over on his back, he slid closer to her until he could put one end of the bone in his mouth. For a while, they chewed on it together and then, he pulled it away and Cory was left empty mouthed. She started crying loudly acting like she was hurt and when he hesitated at her screams, she snatched it away from Sai. He stalked off and went to sleep. The baby wins again! But, only for a moment because as soon as Cory lost interest and climbed up on the couch with me, Sai opened his eyes and reclaimed the bone! It is so interesting to watch the four of them interact. The older dog, the teenager, the child and the toddler. It made me think about how I act when I want something. Am I resigned to waiting, perhaps occasionally expressing my wishes, or do I rush in and take what I want? Do I cry and wail when my desires are not met? Do I try and fail and give up hope? Am I alert and ready for an opportunity to get what I want? The Bible tells us to be cheerful, thankful and pray no matter what comes our way. God is in control. He will give us what is best for us in His time.
Leave a Reply