I’ve owned three dogs; Teddy the first, Teddy the second and Freckles. I loved them all, but oh, the heartache dogs sometimes bring into your life.
Teddy the first was my youngest daughter’s best friend. From the second storey window I could see her across the street skating around the skating rink…Well, I actually couldn’t see her, I could just see Teddy the first, running around the top of the banked up sides, following her every move. Then the two of them would come home exhausted. Alas, he took ill and died that winter and we were heartbroken. We moved sixty miles south and decided we needed another dog. Why the kids insisted he be named “Teddy” again I will never know. He was a playful little fellow but the neighbourhood kids took to teasing him and one day he nipped one of them on the arm. There were dozens of kids on the street and I couldn’t take a chance that he might do it again, so Teddy two was “put down”. More heartache! We moved again; this time around the corner to a brand new house. On a holiday out west we found a farm with a slew of spaniel pups and this little fellow just ran up to us and into our arms. Freckles became my dog and how I loved him. Six months later the doctor said, “You can’t keep that dog: he is making you ill.” My long forgotten allergies had surfaced and so Freckles was given to a good home and I proceeded to mourn him for months.
I sometimes wonder if those kinds of losses are a preparation for bigger losses down the road. Only God knows. But I did enjoy those dogs and their antics were amusing, especially when given a bone. They were very protective of them, sometimes played with them, but were constantly gnawing away at them. I would find them in the most unsuspecting places: under the deck, in the middle of my row of carrots; often in with my kids’ bikes.
I think we are sometimes like dogs, gnawing away at our troubles, hiding them in places where we think they won’t be seen, guarding them like they are treasures. I would often take those dirty old bones and throw them out. Sometimes we need to let God take our troubles and throw them out too. Yes, there will be new ones no doubt, but our gnawing away at the old ones does no good at all.
Next time a worry overwhelms you, hand it over to the Lord. You’re not going to get anywhere gnawing on it yourself. He’s got food for your soul that will give you a lot more satisfaction and won’t leave you frustrated and hungry.
