Anyway Friday, Bear, joined our family for the week. Jesse and Laura are out of town so he is our guest and he is such a sweetie. I continue to anciently keep calling him Papa Bear. He doesn't seem to mind. He trots over to my chair often and places his paws on the armrests. Leaning over he pants in my face until I scratch his nose. His blue and brown eyes are so happy to get a little more love.
Now he's taken to laying on the couch in the front room. He likes the view out to the church I think. But every time Bear comes to see me, I hear a little growl from behind the chair and I roll my eyes.
Luna, JonMark's German Shepherd, is not a fan of Bear. She's bull-headed and we have been ignoring her or dismissing her growls with a wave of the hand and a snap of my fingers. Frankly it was starting to annoy me when I noticed what was happening around the room. Let me explain. . .
Bear climbed up into Jennifer's lap for a snuggle/rub/hug-thing. I was in the kitchen making coffee. Coming out Jennifer was petting Bear's head. He hopped down as he saw me coming. He circled around the living room tail wagging non-stop. Then the growls started again. I looked toward Luna to tell her nicely, but firmly, to quiet down. But as I opened my mouth I saw something in her eyes.
She was worried. . .
He head just peaking out from behind my chair. I just watched her for a moment as she growled at the now-circling Bear who seemed oblivious to her. Then every-so-slightly, as she growled, Luna dipped her head into her toy box and left it covering the opening. The big dummy was telling Bear, in her own way, "These are mine. Get your own." Never mind that the box contains toys for Luna, Nala, and Bianca! Apparently, in Luna's mind Bear was forbidden to come closer.
I picked up the box and moved it closer to Luna's 'home' behind the chair and the growling stopped almost instantly. I placed her favorite orange ball down beside my chair where Bear couldn't see it and she plopped down and groaned with resigned fatigue.
"Unbelievable" I thought. All that energy spent for something as insignificant as a dog toy. But is it?
As I have witnessed a social media outburst because of Roe and gun control laws, and as I watched people rage and scream (maybe even growl) and others who don't agree with them, I wonder how many people are acting just link Luna with her toys!
"This is my stuff. My beliefs. And I won't stop and share any space with you because you don't fully agree with me. I don't care that, like Bear, you are just wandering around my life, I want things my way." And while this could be an oversimplification, I wonder if you have witnessed this type of behavior recently?
Have you encountered someone so animated, so upset, so rage-filled that there is no room for God to come, heal, and restore in their lives? No room exists where we could just be together and say, "I don't know what is happening here, but I know that God promises to never leave or forsake us. So let's just be together and listen to Him."
Is this not the way that Jesus lived? Should it not be the way that we are called to share the gospel?
Blessings
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