UPDATE: Our loyal sidekick, “Sierra”, mentioned in
the previous post died on March 8th, 2013. Tears were shed and our hearts were sad (and
my lap has been a little colder in the evenings once the kids go to bed). She lived a great life in our home and we
truly enjoyed the time we were given with her.
She was spunky and loud and competitive, and at times troublesome to
neighbors (or our ears), but she was also loving and loyal and consistent. In memory of her, we have planted a Kousa
Dogwood tree in our backyard (also called a “Wolf Eyes” according to the
nursery). Thank you, God, for all of
the beautiful things You have given us.
Thinking back over thirteen years, did Sierra teach this old dog any new tricks? I think maybe she did.
Five Lessons
Learned from the Dog:
1. Hospitality. Everyone deserves the “Rockstar” greeting
when they enter the door of my home. No
matter how many times you have been here, I would like to greet you with freshness
as if I have never seen anything better.
Ok, true, I will not spin little circles, jump at your coattails, or pee
on the floor, but I think it’s a worthy cause to wag my tail loudly. Announced or unannounced, you should always
be welcomed with pure joy.
2. Relaxing on the
couch is not a bad thing. I’m not
condoning laziness, but is it such a bad thing to kick your feet up every now
and then and just relax? We all need
down time. A time of rest. Add a blanket and now it’s luxurious!
3. Loyalty is an honorable
quality. Faithful. Trustworthy.
Reliable. Dependable. I will fail daily, because I am greatly
flawed, but these are the qualities that I should strive for. Would my family describe me by these
words? What about my friends? My
co-workers? Neighbors?
4. We all need a
master to lead us. We all follow
something. Some follow the world; some
follow man. Some follow dreams or
thoughts of what “could be”. I was a
flawed master for Sierra, even on a good day.
My husband was better, but even he was not perfect (sorry, my love). Those synonyms above for Loyalty, though (see
number 3), there is One Master who does
possess those unfailingly. When I fail,
He doesn’t. When I struggle, He leads
me…and perfectly (even if I am unclear of where He is leading me). When I stumble, He picks me up. Thank
you, Jesus, for being my Master. There
is NONE better.
5. Love with all
you’ve got. Because it’s transforming. Love is mentioned hundreds of times in the
Bible (literally!). It existed before
time and will continue until Jesus returns.
Do I love like Jesus does?
Unconditionally. Fully. With no expectation of payment. Do I love those who don’t love me in
return? God, by His grace, rescued me
when I was so far from ever returning love to Him. He took my life and changed it and taught me
how to love. Even now I know I can never
equal the love He has shown me. The very
least I can do is love with all I’ve got and maybe somehow reflect a tiny
sliver of what He has already given.
So…being hospitable, relaxing every now and then, striving
to be more dependable, recognizing and giving thanks always for my master, loving
more readily and unconditionally….is that what those “Wag More, Bark Less”
stickers mean? Probably not, but they
sure have made me smile a lot more lately.
Right now, for whatever reason,
wagging more just seems the right thing to do. And that’s not a bad lesson.
