Through Stained Glass: A Mid-Week Reflection-so to speak

Pets.

Some people have them.

Others simply don’t get them.

Many can’t imagine their life without them.

I am the latter.

Last night, when I felt the world becoming too big, I took my pups to the park. Making sure no one else was around and they were a safe distance out of harms way, I unleashed them and off the ran.

Silas with his gray-ing snout to the ground.

Chloe springing about in every which direction, her legs flailing along in excitement.

Freedom. That is what freedom looks like. That is what God wants from us.

Too often we bog ourselves down with trivial tasks we tell ourselves they must get done. Too often we tell ourselves, “I’ll relax as soon as I get this project done.”

Some people can do this.

For others, like myself, taking the necessary time to be Adam can be a challenge. If I’m not doing something then I must be doing nothing but anything is better than nothing, and that is something.  Or so I’m told.

Trying to make sense of life when I haven’t called a time out is like trying to understand that last sentence:  painful, exhausting, all while wasting energy that is already depleted.

In his book, New Seeds of Contemplation, Thomas Merton articulates in one paragraph about the importance of being what I’ve attempted to say with may words, when he writes:

“A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be it is obeying [God]. It “consents,” so to speak, to [God's] creative love. It is expressing an idea which is in God and which is not distinct from the essence of God, and therefore a tree imitates God by being a tree.”

You imitate God by being…well…

                                                      YOU!

What I love about watching my dogs run free off their leashes is that they remind me that true freedom comes when we strip down all that binds us—our job, our relationships, our vices, our (fill in the blank).

Silas and Chloe know how to be one thing—dogs. They don’t try to impress me with fancy words or clever cards. And yet, in their being dogs, they have a way of knowing what I need:  a head on my lap when I’m feeling sad, a push to go have a game a fetch or a long walk when I’m feeling lethargic.

Often I wonder, how did they know I needed that?

Perhaps it was because they have no other distractions to prevent them from reading me, sensing and seeing the world around them.

I like what author John Grogan said about his dog Marley in his book Marley and Me:

“A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things-a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty.”

Today, take time to be you.

Nobody else.

You might be surprised what God has to say…

PS—On Sunday, October 4^th, 2015 at 5pm, on the front lawn of First Presbyterian Church, you and your pet are invited for a brief “Blessing of the Animals’ worship service. Through singing and praying, and of course, with a blessing, we will gather to express our gratitude to God for the gifts of creation and especially our pets. All are welcome:  cats and dogs, birds and sheep, amphibians, and even the church mouse! Oh, humans, too!