A Dog's Life

I think dogs have it made. All they really have to worry about is food and shelter. Why do we have such a complicated life in contrast? I am in the midst of planning and ordering for our home school next school year. I think I made some bad decisions this year, so I want to work hard to do better for next year. Some extras get closed out if you don't sign up early. I also need to plan so I can prowl sales on the materials I need over the summer.And I need at least a full summer to wrench my hands together and obsess over what horrible choices I have made and how I am ruining the most wonderful child on earth. I have a game plan roughly in mind, and have plenty of time to work out the details, but in the midst of all my researching the best curriculum, books, classes, requirements, etc., I glance at my dog. She is snoring on the couch. She has been fed breakfast, given clean water, and now she is fully stretched out on the warm fuzzy comforter on the couch. I don't have to do anything else for her till dinner. Nor does she really want anything else till dinner...except maybe a walk. Sometimes I wish I were a dog.

I have never seen a dog upset that the dog next door doesn't bark with them, that they themselves are getting a little thick around the waist, or that they are getting a lot of grey hairs around the muzzle. Dogs don't wonder what are the best classes to take or exams to pass to get into the best college they can. I have yet to see a dog rub his paw across the dust laden end table and ask, "Who intends to clean up around here?" They never ever insult anyone, or use sarcasm to express how odious they think you are but don't want to say it too directly. I have never heard a dog complain about the food preparation unless it is rancid. And they never hold a grudge. Even when I leave on a walk without them, when I return, they are wagging their tails and licking my hand, happy just to be alive in my presence. Not only do I wish I were a dog, I sometimes wish everyone else was too.

But I am not. And unfortunately, neither is everyone else. So the world of humans with all their silly worries and woes and even serious worries and woes is where I must settle. I know God doesn't make mistakes, but sometimes I feel like I am much more suited to be a dog than a human. I don't seem to be getting the human life down as well as I should be after half a century of practice. I am not alone in my poor excuse of being the best I can be. It is an age old problem. Solomon, the wise old man of ancient times wrote:
This only have I found:
God created mankind upright,
but they have gone in search of many schemes." (Ecclesiastes 7:29 )

Then I read a verse like this, and my canine yearnings are brought into perspective:

So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

In His Image! I am created, you are created "in his own image, in the image of God." Why would He do that unless He holds us in special honor, for a special purpose? I long for the simplicity of a dog's life, but God has something else in mind.

-save a dog- hollowcreekfarm.org