Contentment

Lester was back in the hospital earlier this month for 10 days. His small toe on his left foot had a bone infection that was severe. The toe had to be removed. During his recovery, he became very ill and couldn’t keep down any food. It was (and still is) a stressful time. But, our family, church, and friends once again showered us with love and support.

Our friend’s Kate and Jerry came each day to let Bison out and feed him so I could stay at the hospital with Lester. Shane from my dog club drove an hour to take Bison to the park to play with him. On Saturday, Kate and Jerry took Bison to their home to play with their dog, Darla. Kate took photos of them playing together and sent them to my by text. It was so comforting getting those photos and seeing that he was taken care of.

One photo showed Bison playing with a little doggie smile on his face. When I looked at the photo, I was struck with the fact that even though Bison was a little stressed with Lester’s absence and me not giving him the attention that I normally do, he was still content to go with Kate and have fun with Darla.

1 Timothy 6:6-8 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” Bison was a good example of focusing on the good things and being content even in the midst of trouble.

Who’s in Control?

I recently had the opportunity to attend the regional SchH competition for our area. It was a really neat experience to see so many great dog and handler teams. As I watched the dogs perform, I was struck with the idea that most of these dogs were no better than mine as far as their capabilities. Bison could run as fast, jump as high, and obey as well. The main difference is that these dogs had better handlers. People with years and years of experience who had trained them from the time they were 8 weeks old or even earlier. The handlers are the ones who made the dogs as spectacular and as useful as they were. The best dogs on the field were the ones that were the most yielded to their handler. The worst dogs were the ones who tried to do their own thing. One dog was even disqualified for being “disobedient”.

It is the same way with the Christian life. We all have potential, but what makes us useful is our “handler”, God. The more we are yielded to him the better off we are. It is when we try to do our own thing, when we are disobedient, then we lose.

Romans 6:16- “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

1 Corinthians 6:20- “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

2 Timothy 2:20 – 21 “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.“

Looking in the Mirror

To work on Bison’s previously mentioned klutziness and jumping problem, we enrolled in an agility class. The class is at a club that we have never trained with before. The first night, Bison was very distracted in general with the new place, new instructor, new dogs... One distraction though became a lesson to me.

The club has a few places where they have placed mirrors on the wall. They are about 18 inches by 4 feet tall. Each time we walked by the mirror, Bison stopped to look at himself in the mirror. The first couple of times he did it, it was cute like he was saying, “Who’s that handsome guy”. But after five or six times, it was annoying. It was to the point that he wasn’t able to do the obstacles because he was so focused on himself.

It hit me that I am like that sometimes too. I focus so much on myself that the obstacles of life trip me up. This concept reminds me of an acrostic for “Joy” that I learned as a child, Jesus first, others second, and yourself last. This is based on Matthew 22:36-40 “ Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Focus on loving God first of all, then others, then yourself. When in times of trouble it is very easy to reverse that and just like Bison, focus so much on myself that the rest of the world just stops. Its time to put away the mirror.

Courage and Fear

Author's Note: I read in one of my devotion books a few days ago that courage is the opposite of fear. When we are determined to be courageous with God’s help, we can defeat fear. I couldn’t help but think of my dogs as examples of the contrast of courage and fear and how that related to some events in my life. Due to the importance of this subject to me, this will be a bit long.

The day after I created this blog, we lost our dog, Moose, to cancer. Moose was the first dog I had that I really trained and he has a special place in my heart, but Moose had issues. He was afraid of everything. It makes me sad to think of how he lived his life, often cowering in his doggie bed growling at threats that didn’t exist. He snapped at children and fiercely growled at anyone who was “different”. He couldn’t be trusted to interact with visitors or go anywhere with us. What is especially sad is that aside from that one issue, he was a great dog. With me, he was loyal, cuddly, extremely smart, gentle, and loving.

In contrast, Bison is my brave dog. There is very little that will rattle him (those things are a story for another day). In SchH, the protection phase is all about testing the courage of the dog. The helper wears a bite sleeve and carries a padded stick. These decoys are trained to present a threat to the dog, to look as menacing as possible. Yet, Bison still runs toward the helper, bites the sleeve and holds on even when hit with the padded stick.

One day in training, we parked on the other side of the field from where we normally park. I was walking the long distance with Bison and the helper yelled from the other end of the field, “Send him for a bite.” I gave Bison the command for bite and let go of the leash. He ran as fast as he could and bit the sleeve. After the initial engagement, he stopped and looked back at me. He was checking in to see if I was with him. He is a very confident dog, yet he was asking for permission to engage. We work together as a team. He wanted me to be with him. As soon as I nodded, he went back to engaging with the helper.

This contrast is very real in my own life. I’ve never really considered myself a fearful person. In fact, growing up I would have said I was brave. It wasn’t until I hit circumstances in my life that I couldn’t control that I began to be filled with fear. I wanted nothing more out of life than to be a stay at home mom with a half dozen kids. I was devastated when we were unable to conceive. Through the early days of fertility treatments I was consumed with fear. What if I can’t get pregnant? What if this isn’t the right treatment? What if there is something really wrong with me? Am I going to die? Month after month was filled with blood draws, drugs, doctor vistits, and disappointments. I couldn’t control this. I was like Moose lying on my bed growling at the world. It wasn’t until I recognized that I needed to trust God in this situation that I began to let go of my fear. Isaiah 55:8-9 says “8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” I had to recognize that MY perfect plan for my life was not GOD’S perfect plan and I began to experience peace. Today, I am thankful for the trial of infertility. It helped me be a stronger person and I am able to be a friend to other women who are experiencing the same thing.

Through my adult life, I have had to battle fear over and over again. When Lester lost sight in one eye and was in danger of loosing sight in the other, when Lester’s kidneys failed, when financial difficulties were overwhelming, when workload was too heavy to bear, and countless other trivial things. But, with each battle, faith grew.

Fast forward several years as I stand in the emergency room where the attending physician tells me that my husband had a severe infection that caused sepsis and was not likely to live through the night. I was told that I should call his family to get to the hospital right away. The moment that I dreaded for over a decade was upon me. Every time in the past when this scenario had played out in my imagination, I was consumed with fear. How could I ever face loosing him? He is all I have. How could I ever go on without him? But, instead of being completely paralyzed with fear and anxiety, I was filled with peace. Verses that I had committed to memory over the years as I battled fear flooded my mind.

Hebrews 13:5b- “...he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Psalm 56:3- “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”
John 14:27- “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Psalm 29:11- “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.”

I certainly didn’t want Lester to die, and yes, I was very upset. But, at the same time I knew that no matter what happened I would be ok. Just like Bison looking back for me and getting the nod to go on. I “looked” and saw that God was with me and because He “had my back”. I knew I could face this engagement. God was on my team. Courage replaced fear. I latched on. I took the hits with stick and walked away with my faith in tact.

I am happy to report that after spending 13 days in the hospital, Lester came home with me. I don’t share this story to pat myself on the back. It is just one success in what seems like a mountain of failures of faith. There have been other challenges since then and there will be more in the future. I just hope that as I face each one that I will remember to be a Bison and not a Moose.

The Makings of a Dog Lover and a God Lover

I’ve owned dogs since my marriage in 1995. I wasn’t around dogs much growing up and didn’t really like them. Until the day my husband talked me into getting a puppy. We ended up going down to the Humane Society. From the moment I saw his cute little furry face and big puppy belly, I was in love. All his litter mates had been adopted already. He needed hernia surgery that would cost extra. We were rescuing him. The adventure started three days later when the sweet little angel, Bear, ran non-stop from one end of our tiny rented home to the other end for two hours straight. But it was the beginning of my relationship with dogs. I knew next to nothing, but it didn’t matter to Bear. I was the primary trainer in the house. I made a ton of mistakes, but he loved me anyway and we learned together. Since then, there has been Gator, a German Shepherd who we lost to bloat, and Moose, a Golden/Shepherd mix who we will lose in a short time to cancer. Finally, Bison, registered Indo vom Triton, who is the main focus of this blog (pictured on the right).

This beginning makes me think of how we come to God. I was only four years old when I decided to give Him my life. My sister told me about John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” She explained that we can go to heaven when we die if we ask forgiveness for our sin. Even at the age of four, I knew I had done bad things. I don’t remember if she told me the verse at the time, but 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I bowed my head right there in the garage and with the faith of a child asked God to forgive me for my sins and take me to heaven when I die. In the church world, we call that “getting saved” because of Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

My relationship with God started that day and just like with Bear, I knew next to nothing. It didn’t matter to God, He loved me just as I was. Through the years my relationship has grown deeper and sweeter. Not only am I a dog lover, but I am a God lover.