The Pleasure of his Master

The four dogs lay down all alone at the end of the Obedience ring. Their owners were no where in sight. In fact, in the dogs' eyes, the owners had told the dogs to lie down, and then deserted them in this scary, unfamiliar place. Each dog lay down with ears perked forward, looking anxiously at the door the owner had walked out of. Eventually, during the long stay, the poodle lay down its head and went to sleep. Two other dogs remained alert, but calm. The Doberman however, was having a crisis within his loyal brain.

I stood just outside the ring with two friends, watching the drama unfold. Their good friend was the owner of the Doberman. The Doberman shifted his weight, as though to rise. All of us gasped. If he got up, the owner was disqualified. The poor dog settled again and I could see him thinking over his options. Then his rear haunches wriggled and rose off the ground. Again we gasped, as the dog paused, thinking through his action.
"If I get up, I will disappoint the Master...the one who has deserted me in my moment of need. Yet...I remember she doesn't like me to disobey her. And if I obey, I get a large piece of liver. I love liver. But I am scared, and I am lonely, and she has left me. She doesn't care anymore!"
He wriggled again, but then lowered his haunches back down. The minutes ticked interminably by. The Golden Retriever happily had enough of this nonsense and stood up. He headed to the ring exit, where the judge kindly leashed him to await the owner's return. The Doberman looked distraught.
"That Golden followed his heart...he disobeyed the Master. Why can't I? I can, I can...I don't need to obey. This long stay is a ridiculous rule anyway...."
Still, the Doberman wiggled, but didn't rise. The battle went on visibly within him.
"Can we help him in some way...indicate to him he should stay and she will be back?" I asked, almost as distraught as the Doberman.
"We could," said my friend, "But that would be cheating."
So we waited with the Doberman.
Finally, the blessed owner returned. The Doberman heaved a sigh of relief. His Master smiled at him. He had overcome temptation, and the reward was the pleasure of his Master. Nothing else mattered.

Deuteronomy 8: 5-7

⁵ Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
 ⁶ Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. ⁷ For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills

Psalm 128:1
¹ Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
   who walk in obedience to him.

He will provide the increase

I remember my sister telling me that in organizing one's life, it is important to keep a hedge of time around yourself.  Don't schedule every minute, she warned. Then when unexpected things occur....and the unexpected always occurs....you will have time to handle them without the messier alternative of slitting your throat.

As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, my hope for this week was to put a hedge of time around myself, so I would be available for any last minute requests from the bride and groom or Mother of the bride. As I also mentioned in my blog, I had not done a very good job of hedging. And then a friend emailed and asked if we wanted to come see her new pups. Of course we did! We would squeeze that in somehow.....I did have a spare half hour on the way to errands. And then the mother of the Bride, Pam, called. I xxxxed out all other items on my to-do list, as this was the most important thing the mother of a groom does....whatever the bride needs her to do.

My job was to go to a wholesale store near me and find some very specific vases. In case the bride wants the reception to be a secret, I will not divulge the nature of these very specific vases, but Pam had gotten a great deal, and the price of shipping would exceed the price of the vases. Could I go pick them up and bring them with me when I drove up the following week? Of course! I knew we would have to pass up the puppies, but as Asherel said, "We've seen puppies before."

So we found the store and went to the manager to ask about these very specific vases. He pulled out a tape measure and we wandered up and down a few aisles looking for the exact correct size.
"Can it be 2 inches shorter?" he asked, "We have many of those."
"She was very specific," I said, "She needed that height."
"Why?" he asked.
I shrugged, "I don't know. Mine is not to question why, mine is but to do or die."

Finally, he found a box and pulled it out, and measured. Eureka! It was the very specific height, appeared to be the very specific shape, and he would give me 50% off.
I snapped a picture of the very specific vase and texted it to Pam. There was a catch....he could only find 5 and Pam needed 7 or 8.
"However" I told Pam, "He had lots of the shorter size...would you want to have both sizes to get the number you need?"
"Would that look ok?" she asked.
"I don't know...I've never done this before."
"Neither have I," said Pam.
"Asherel is very artistic," I said, "Should I ask her?"
"Yes," said Pam, "But you are an artist too...."
"But I can't visualize. Asherel can. Just a second."

In retrospect, it was a little odd that the mother and groom of an elaborate, elegant, formal wedding were seriously consulting with a 14 year old who is terrified of wearing dresses or anything that smacks of dressing up.
Asherel shook her head. Mixing sizes would not work, in her highly refined opinion.
"Let me call the florist and I will get back to you," said Pam.

In the meantime, Asherel and I went walking up and down every aisle and we found at the far hidden corner of the store, on display another of the very specific vases. I carried it over to the manager. He pulled out a tape measure. Yes, it was the right size.
I texted Pam, "We have 6 now!"
Then the store employee hurried over with one more, but with a small chip. I texted Pam, "We have 7, but the 7th has a small chip. You will get a discount, they said!"
Pam didn't answer the text as she was on the phone with the florist who was not happy about the less than very specific solution being proposed, but felt it would maybe be ok if it was the best that mother of the groom and her 14 year old consultant could manage.(In all fairness, both Pam and the florist were much more gracious than I am indicating, but the rest of the story is exactly as told.)

Pam called. I explained the current situation. She told me buy the 7 with the chipped one too, as surely everyone would be looking at the bride and not notice a small chip anyway. And just as I was about to pay, another employee came rushing out with another box of 4 of the very specific vases.
"We now have 11!" I cried delightedly to Pam.
"Get 8, in case one breaks," she said.

I felt a little like the widow in the story of the empty jars in 2 Kings of the Old Testament. The widow was out of money and food, and was ready to eat her last bit of bread with her son before closing her eyes to die. Elisha the prophet proposed that instead, she go out and gather as many empty jars as she could. She did so, with no further instructions. She had no idea why she was gathering the jars. She just knew that Elisha was a prophet of the God she trusted and loved, and she would obey unquestioning. In the end, she gathered the jars, Elisha told her to pour her last tiny bit of oil in the jars, and miraculously every one was filled. She then sold the oil and had enough to live on for her son and herself.

It is one of my favorite Bible stories and illustrates one of my favorite biblical principles. When you step out in faith, God miraculously supplies the increase. He miraculously fills the gaps, covers inadequacies, and reveals the location of the very specific vases.

"What is she going to do with all these?" asked the store owner as we checked out. If you saw the very specific nature of the vases, you might be tempted to ask the same thing.

"I don't know," I answered, "But I suspect it will be the anchor of their home decorating down the road."
She shook her head, laughing.

2 Kings 4:3
 ³ Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few.

Deuteronomy 30:16
¹⁶ For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

Luke 17:5-6
⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
 ⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Poor Timing

Asherel and I volunteered at our club obedience show yesterday. We have no obedient dogs to enter in these kinds of shows, so instead, we went to help our wonderful club and maybe absorb some molecules of dog obedience to bring home to our dogs. Unfortunately, I suspect hard work is at the root of obedient dogs.

We were amazed by the expert dogs, the ones in the advanced classes, but the classes I most enjoy watching are the novices. You never know what you will get in a novice class. Sometimes the owners luck out and the dog does everything right. The owners, dogs, and judges all look surprised when that happens.

More often, the newbies provide much needed laugh therapy. My favorite yesterday was a happy golden retriever. He trotted out onto the ring at his owner's side, looking gleefully around. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, and his golden wispy tail flapped back and forth. He pranced and seemed surprised when his owner told him to sit. He glanced at her, paused, and then wagged his happy tail and sat. He needed many leash tugs to follow her commands. Each leash tug is a deduction, but it was clear the retriever didn't mind.
Deduct away, he was thinking, I am dog and I am happy happy happy to be here with you all!!!

Then came the part when the owner was to down the dog off leash, tell him to stay, and walk away. As soon as the leash came off, the retriever bounded into play position. The owner told him, "Down!"
The retriever raced around the ring, returned to the owner, and dropped again into an enticing "play with me" pose. For some reason, the owner did not want to play. Each time she approached him, leash in hand, ready to snatch him, he was off hurtling and bounding around her and around the judge. The judge remained stoic. I never saw him crack a smile. Finally, after several happy moments for the dog and agonizing moments for the owner, she grabbed him, leashed him, told the judge she was sorry and melted away.

So much of life is a matter of proper timing. A playful, happy dog is greatly to be desired....but not when what is needed is sober obedience. I can sympathize with the dog. Much of my life would be vastly improved if my timing were better. I always think of the perfect thing to say after the situation is over and gone. I often do the right thing too soon and it is then the wrong thing. I push the send button before I check that I sent it to the person I wasn't making fun of.....(haha, actually, I did send it to the wrong person, but I have grown spiritually and I wasn't making fun of anyone in the content of the email......for once.....)

As usual, the retriever and I are not alone in our mismanagement of timing. In the Bible,when Paul is arrested for rabble rousing (as speaking the message of Jesus was proclaimed to be), he is sent to plead his case to Festus. Festus hears him out, but before he comes to a judgment, Paul says he is a Roman citizen and appeals his case to Rome, as was his right as a citizen. Festus confides later that it was too bad Paul appealed to Rome as Festus did not think Paul was guilty of anything deserving death.  And we may conclude that Paul had a timing problem- he should have waited to see how Festus would rule. But as a result of his appeal, Paul is able to tell many in Rome about Jesus whom he would otherwise have had no access to.

That is the wonderful thing about God's timing. He can use anything and turn it around for good.
All things are perfect in His time.... and God doesn't give deductions when He has to tug on our hearts. He just pours out His mercy and love and as gently as possible steers us to the better path.

Ecclesiastes 8:
 ⁵ Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
   and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
⁶ For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,

2 Corinthians 9:8
⁸ And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

The Sitting Contest

Every time we pass dogs when we are out walking, my own dogs go ballistic. I have learned that the only way I can keep my arm attached to my body, which is definitely to be preferred, is whenever I see dogs in the distance, I make my dogs sit and "wait".  The other dogs would then pass by, often lunging and barking themselves, but my dogs would  be still and on the surface appear to be well-behaved good canine citizens. Should I become smug and prideful and attempt to pass the other dogs without using this strategy, my very opportunistic pets would immediately revert into wild and uncontrollable beasts, lunging and barking and making me look like I did not deserve to be a dog owner, which is indeed the closely guarded but true secret.

Unfortunately, other dog owners began to catch on. They also did not like having their arms wrenched out of the acetabulum, which is the mobile but unstable shoulder socket. So other dog owners, when they saw us in the distance, would make their dogs sit. Now we had a stalemate. Neither of us dared move, knowing how expensive shoulder surgery could be.  So we would edge closer, then make the dogs sit again. Dogs all over the neighborhood were beginning to learn to be calm when other dogs passed, as long as they were sitting. The problem was that we were all out for "walks", not "sits".  On the other hand, the nice benefit was while we were all sitting, waiting for the other owner to make the next move, we began to chat. I was slowly growing to know people in my community. Bad dogs could lead to good things, I learned.

And this is often the case. What looks like wretched and painful trials can result in wonderful things if we persevere. If we can manage to hang in there, and look beyond the naughty dog on the end of the taut leash, we sometimes see a sweet and kind neighbor we might otherwise have missed entirely.  Perhaps that is part of why James admonishes us in the book that bears his name to "count it all joy when you encounter many trials." Joy? Joy when we are struggling beyond what we are certain we can bear? In all things? I don't think so, James......And yet, time and time again, when I do manage to hang in there beyond the trial and look back, I do see that what I gained usually exceeds what I lost. 

I suspect this is key to living life with joy no matter what. Trusting that the trials are leading to something far greater and often beyond what we can see. Hang in there, whispers God, and make your dog sit. Then, when the barking is stilled, listen in the silence for Me.

James 1: 2-12
² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.  ⁹ Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
 ¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.