Things that go Bump in the Night

Our crazy old terrier, Lucky, has started a new endearing activity. In the middle of the night, he wanders the house, mostly our bedroom, poking his nose at things and knocking them over. Two nights ago, we slept very little because of Lucky poking with his nose. He poked at the little garbage can till it plopped over spewing tissues and paper. He poked at some books, skittering them to the floor. He poked at my guitar, playing a chord, and not such a pleasant one at 2 a.m.  At that point, he was banned from the room, but we still heard poking, whining, and crashing.  In the morning, I found another overturned trash can that he had poked in the living room. We don't know why he is suddenly marauding in the night as the wire faced poker. We are not thrilled. It is hard to be patient with such a nutcase.

During the day, he has a new habit as well. He follows us around, and when we stop, he pokes his nose in the back of our knees. When we move forward, he follows like a shadow. When we become annoyed because every time we turn, we are tripping over Lucky, he looks at us through his mop of wild terrier hair with a completely unconcerned look on his face. It is clear he doesn't think he has gone bonkers.

He doesn't seem sick or in pain. He just seems ... clingy, and plumb crazy. And the more he begs for attention, the less I want to give it. He is so needy that it is overwhelming. None of us can meet his need for constant affirmation.

As I was on a walk with Honeybun, I thought about how she is just the opposite.  She is aloof, and doesn't want us to pet her, especially around her head. She follows us and settles always in the same room where we are, but she doesn't whine, ask to be petted, or poke her nose to make things clatter to the ground so we will give her attention.

I am sorry to say that I am a Lucky. I need a lot of affirmation, and a constant stream of "good girl!" to feel I am worthy. I want to be a Honeybun -- content and secure in the knowledge that I am loved. I was considering the implications and reasons for this, and then reminded myself that we all seek applause to one degree or another. It is hard to remember that the only applause that really matters is from God.  I don't know if He physically is in Heaven clapping for us, but we do know that whenever anyone makes the choice to follow Him, the angels rejoice. So I am already getting heavenly kudos! And while I couldn't find any verse that specifically says God applauds, there are a few that say He rejoices over us and even sings in delight over us! Even when we make a mess of our lives, and bump into those things we shouldn't be bumping, He continues to love us and delight in us.

I will try to keep that model in mind when Lucky is playing the guitar at midnight again.

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Zephaniah 3:17

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”