A Dog's Life

My wife and I are dog-sitting for a few days for our daughter. His name is “Fitzgerald Muenster”… “Fitz” for short … and his personality fits! He is a French Bull Dog, small and strong like a bull, handsome and charming like your typical Frenchman, and smart as a whip. But he is also fun and really funny.

When I take Fitz for a walk, he struts up the street like he owns the town. If a car goes by, he gives it a serious warning. And if another dog would actually have the nerve to attempt to walk on our street (excuse me… his street) he will go into full guard-dog mode to protect me. I really enjoy the little guy, and I think he likes me to, although he totally loves my wife a whole lot more. (Maybe something to do with her cooking?)

Anyway, at one point my wife and I needed to go to the store and we had to leave Fitz behind at home. As we were leaving, Fitz jumped up into my leather recliner and made himself comfortable (doesn’t he know he is violating the master’s chair!} and just yawned as we left.

While we were at the store, I kept thinking about Fitz being alone at home. He is a dog after all, and therefore has no idea where we went, when we are coming back, where his next meal is coming from, or even scarier than that, he has no idea if we will ever come home! And yet, upon our return, there he is lounging upside down in my recliner, with the tip of his tongue hanging out, probably dreaming of French female canines. Apparently not a care in the world.

And that got me thinking… Maybe we can learn something from Fitz, who isn’t much worried about anything. I mean, look at us, we worry about everything. We don’t know what tomorrow has in store. We don’t know if or when the pandemic will end. We don’t know if our boss is going to close the business down, or whether our kids will graduate, or how we are going to pay for our parents’ medical care. Our worries and questions are so many, and yet it seems like the answers are so few. But don’t we already have the answer, the answer to the most important question of all? That in the end, all of us if, we simply believe, will make it home.  

Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you alone, because you were made for it.

~ C. S. Lewis

 

Forgetness

I know it’s not a word, but maybe it should be.  The “Forgetness” I refer to above is not related to forgetfulness, although that is an ongoing problem I’ve been having lately. It is in fact, related to  “Forgiveness” which can surely be a complicated concept at times. I received a reminder of that yesterday.

The text message was from a young man I hadn’t seen or heard from in years. He asked for my email address and mentioned something about a long-ago conversation, and how he might have been wrong. That got my curiosity going!

He started the email saying, “I know this note comes out of the blue.” He then went on to say, “I recently went through the book of Luke and noticed something I hadn’t caught before. I think God may be tapping me on the shoulder.”

His email went on to explain. “We had a conversation many years ago while waiting to make a customer presentation. It was about Jim (not his real name). I don’t remember the details of what he did, but seem to recall it was about claiming to own a piece of the company, which he was not entitled to. You said something about never forgiving him, and I replied something to the effect that “you must forgive him” Anyway, after reading the bible verse (below) I realized that Luke is saying that if he repents then he must be forgiven.  I surely don’t have all the answers on this topic, but I recalled our conversation and think you might have felt judged by me - which was not my intent. I simply wanted to give you the truth, for your well-being.  The reality is there are tons of scriptures about forgiveness and it’s not always perfectly clear when to let go, and when to set boundaries, or even when to cut someone off.  I am sorry if I offended you then. I hope you and your family are well.”

Funny how a simple conversation more than 12 years ago, can find it’s way back into my life at a time when I really need to remember it. I wrote back saying I wasn’t offended at all. In fact, I appreciated his perspective at the time because it helped me to make a decision that I still believe is right today. That decision… the concept of “Forgetness”… to forget about the wrongs done to you, so they won’t continue to hurt you, but to forgive the person if they ever truly show remorse. Perhaps a simple solution to a complicated problem.

So watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”                ~ Luke 17 vs 3-4