This is post number 5 of the series A Fresh Look @ Simple Things.

Today’s theme is Dogs. They call dog, “Man’s Best Friend.” There is a quote that I like that says, “If you think a diamond is a girl’s best friend you never had a lap dog.” Statistics show that a high percentage of us have a dog. If we are open to the possibility the dog will gladly choose us for his or her best friend.

People are the ones who break up with dogs, they never abandon us. They have become ubiquitous across cultures for their absolute devotion to their people.

I am late sharing with you today because I put In strenuous morning hosting my Bible study. I have a very shy Maltese. I expected her to hang out with my cats in the study. She spent hours quietly lying on my lap while I led the Bible study. She followed me into the kitchen to prepare them lunch and then quietly waited in the dining room for the meal. They kept commenting on how she just lay there so quiet for hours on my lap. She is the ultimate lap dog. She remained with me so she had the courage to remain with my guests. My dog trusts me implicitly.

My dog trusts me to make the right decisions. All dog people wish they could be half as smart and brave as their dogs believe them to be. Shy baby will happily hop into her car seat and go anywhere with me.

 

All her fear disappears in my presence.

I had a friend tell me that as a young teen she sometimes felt the need to get away from her parents in the evening after  a stressful “discussion.” She told me she would take the big dog for a walk since they didn’t like the idea of her going out alone after dark. The dog had a yard and did not need a walk but it gave her time to walk off the teen angst. She saw the dog as a sign of protection. What surprised me was what she told me next. She said that the dog was afraid! She said the big baby leaned as close to her leg as she could get for the whole walk. Sometimes she could even feel quivers of fear travel through the dog’s body and up her leg. The dog never hesitated to go on those dark walks. The dog would look into her eyes with complete trust and faith. My friend said she realized that she was the grownup on those walks and while she trusted the sight of the big dog for her safety she was really the protector. They trust us!

I was thinking about the Apostle Paul traveling with Silas in Philippi. They were thrown into prison without trial after healing a slave-girl and thereby depriving her master of money. I love Acts 16:25. Not the part of the story with the earthquake, not the part where all the prisoners all refused to escape, not even where  the jailor and his whole family came to believe in Jesus. My favorite part of the story is where Paul and Silas are sitting in prison at midnight after being beaten and locked up. It sounds like a wretched predicament. In that appalling situation Paul and Silas were, ” praying and singing hymns to God.” How could they do such a thing as sing? Lament or rage as a form of prayer makes sense, but singing hymns! Paul and Silas trusted God. They had no idea what would happen next but they believed that the One traveling through the dark night with them was trustworthy. God actually used this brief imprisonment to enable Paul and Silas to reach more people in Philippi. Paul had a very successful ministry to the Philippians and wrote them a wonderful letter about God’s love.

Do I trust God enough to face the dark places in life with Him by my side?  I know I will never be all that my dog thinks that I am. The wonderful blessing of life with dogs is that they can teach us so much about what we ought to be. God is even better and far more able than I imagine Him to be. I really can go anywhere with Him. I could learn a lot about trust from dogs.