Dog Walking and Terror

 

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Psalm 4:8 American Standard Version (ASV)

⁸ In peace will I both lay me down and sleep; For thou, Jehovah, alone makest me dwell in safety.

Cleo, our German shepherd-Labrador mix, and I had a routine that we went through every night. If I forgot one thing, she refused to do the next thing. When it was bedtime, she got restless. She sighed heavily, then came over and lay down where ever I was sitting. Finally, I’d take the hint and go to the coat closet and fetch her leash, a small flashlight, and a plastic bag for her indiscretions. Then we walked across the street and out into the desert beyond.

The desert is always solitary and indeed deserted. The city lights are ever close, so our stroll was never in the deep darkness of the desert a long way beyond us. But enough stars are actually visible to make out the constellations. The planets do indeed wander through the background of stars beyond. At the time, Saturn was bright in the sky and had been sneaking up on Spica for several months.

Often coyotes were singing to the moon all around us. On occasion we even saw one watching us boldly or slinking slyly away. Cleo was a bit larger than even the largest coyotes, and she has a great love of chasing them. I would slip her leash loose and watch her eagerly give chase. She was far too old and fat and slow to get too close. But she loved it, and the coyotes seem to love it, too. As they got to a “safe” distance, they would stop, turn around, and watch her, sort of egging her on.

One time, years before Cleo was born, I was walking Brenna, another of our line of dogs, when a woman appeared from the south with a couple dogs in tow. She was surprised or even shocked by my appearance. Our dogs were on leash, so there was no potential dog fighting.

“Oh! I’m terribly sorry. I promise I’ll never come out here again!” She was overcome with fear.

“Don’t worry,” I answered. “You’re not doing anything wrong and certainly in no danger. I like to walk my dog here, too.”

“Please let me go!” she pleaded. In her terror, she continued verbally groveling, making very little sense in what she said.

I was surprised by her attitude. I, an old man, was certainly not threatening her. I was at least twenty yards from her when she saw me and was not even walking towards her, let alone pursuing her. That she lived in fear was evident in everything she said and in every movement she made. She turned and hastened back towards the houses and streets.

Thank You, Lord, for a feeling of safety and that every night we both lie down and sleep.

 

 

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Enthusiasm, Even for Work

 

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Colossians 3:23 Holman Christian Standard Bible

²³ Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men,

 

In high school I was required to do somewhere between 4 and 8 hours of physical work a week. My first year there I worked for my math teacher Ken Thomas. He had created a little industry making honey frames to go in bee hives. With very primitive equipment he set up a mass production system that taught me quite a bit. He left at the end of the year, and I have no recollection of what I did for physical work my last two years. I assure you I had no enthusiasm for what I was doing. Part of that was that we got paid a tickey an hour. That was the equivalent of about 3¢ an hour. Even in those days that was a total insult to anybody. When my mother learned about it, she was furious, “I can’t even get you work clothes at that rate!” she fumed.

When I went to college at Andrews University, my whole attitude had changed. I shopped around at various work opportunities and found very little that would fit in my schedule. The head of custodial, Art Davis, saw me vainly searching for work: “I’ll give you work” he offered. I jumped for it. The next Sunday I reported for work. There was a call for all students to help reap ornamental gourds on the farm, so Mr. Davis sent a bunch of us over to help the university farm. They had planted a whole field of these pretty little fall decorative items.

I grabbed a bag and started picking all the good ones. It was back-breaking work because the gourds were all on small vines close to the ground. But I worked cheerfully and with enthusiasm. I didn’t realize that some people were watching the whole group of us who were doing this. Word got back to Mr. Davis. When I reported for work the next day, I discovered I had not only a job but also a friend in Mr. Davis. He told me he appreciated my enthusiasm and work ethic. He gave me the best paying jobs on campus and enabled me to pay my own way through college until I graduated.

I confess that the thought had not entered my head that I was doing this for the Lord. But over the next few years, I discovered that a lot of the bosses I had were not like Mr. Davis. They wanted to get the absolute most out of me and pay me the absolute least they could get away with. After the first year of full-time teaching and abuse, I said to my wife, Sylvia, “I have decided that I am working for the Lord, but humans are paying me. I will continue to work for the Lord.” She concurred with me. God saw to it that I always had a job and, although I never got rich, things went better and better for me and my family. I gained a lot of satisfaction from my work, and now we are comfortably retired. Praise the Lord!

Thank You, Lord, for prospering us and for giving us a satisfying life.

 

 

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