“This German shepherd goes crazy again, came out of nowhere and jumped on me as I walked?
“German shepherd freely destroys my rose garden, what is an idiot dog !?
“Did I almost ignore the German shepherd coming home from work last night?
“Who is this dog for?Do these people know the law on the use of muzzles for large dogs?
“I think this dangerous dog belongs to these new people on the fourth street. Do you know the law of snout?Does anyone have to do anything about it?”
I immerse myself in social media through Nextdoor, an app used by more than 300 families in my North Carolina neighborhood. Am I intentionally focusing on images of children or dogs or lunches that start and continue locally?local enough to snuggle up with my hand or try my own mouth. The messages quoted above represent a typical day in my neighborhood.
Our posts on Nextdoor sometimes seem to be a bad epic drama: no plot, but with a variety of characters exaggerating the situation to take effect one after the other: loose dogs, dogs that need to walk, dogs that need new homes, dogs that need good manners, dogs that need friends. My instinct when I see someone else? Notifying Nextdoor is to see if Sully, my stupid three-legged Gordon Setter, has found his way back to an evening trail and the freedom resulting from Nextdoor’s ignominy and misfortune. More than once, that’s how I came up with the idea that I had a stupid dog that was committing crimes against roses and snout laws.
Since Sully is counted in the app, I know that these publications on Nextdoor are all evangelical bridges. Actually, prayer? This stupid dog fills an evangelical expectation. If I had to write an awareness program, maybe I should use it as a title, why?Two reasons. First, the crisis must bring out the best in Christians. Secondly, I like dogs. And I love children and the elderly and everyone in between looking for stray dogs, and so, when dogs and children are in the unforgivable house of misconduct, my Christian vocation is fully evident, I immediately feel a sense of connection with the innocent. criminal and a clear call about what I can do to help.
That’s how it works
I start with prayer. All my children who are not taking online classes in high school are asked to pray with me for the dog and for the people who pursue it. Yes, I pray for the dogs. I do not pray for their souls or their eternal future, but I pray for their well-being. Dogs have made my life infinitely sweeter. As a child, one of my children, who is now a teenager, was domesticated with Sally, our sick Golden Retriever. Another child was drowsy with her. During the years when we were foster parents and even adopted older teenagers, we had dogs that slept and were caressed and loved by these children, when my husband Kent and I couldn’t move them or offer them physical comfort, dogs always did. when a dog is lost, my children feel as empathy as I do. I pray about five minutes, then we tie our shoes and move on.
After praying, I take my dog, treats and necklaces in my pockets and take all the children available to look for the lost dog. Always, and I always mean, I find the dog or the person who’s looking for him. we find the dog, put a necklace on it, take it home and post his picture on Nextdoor. The former prodigal looks at his plate of food with contrite eyes, and the neighborhood witnesses his redemption.
If, on the other hand, we find people and children looking for the dog, we find out how we can help, we exchange cell numbers and addresses, more than once we have learned that the lost dog belongs to a new neighbor. we plan to go out together, with the dog, the children and the family. The conversation takes time, but usually no more than an hour. This hour allows us to meet new people, strangers, in crisis. This allows us to walk with them, to accompany them in their fear. We learn to pray and help our neighbor. It also gives us a good walk, which we all need in the middle of a busy day of family orientation.
Having your own dog that flees with reckless abandonment means that my children know all the good places where dogs come together. There’s the creek behind my house. There are trees on the edge of the neighborhood where the deer reside. My children have useful local wisdom. We also know the best tricks to handle a fickle dog. A child has a special whistle that no four-legged friend can resist. Another knows how to shake a bag of treats with maximum effect. These particular abilities may not be on Paul’s list of spiritual gifts, but they are also used by the Spirit in the same way.
Once the stray dog has rested again after hard work, we proceed by inviting the new neighbor to let the dogs play and have lunch with the family in our enclosed courtyard. Keeping things informal, spontaneous and away from home reassures everyone. Plastic dishes and food scraps are more likely to be friends with dogs and people than porcelain. Reduce your expectations to increase your joy.
Meeting the neighborhood children and dogs gave me great joy. He also provided gospel bridges for spiritual and earthly good. A backyard doggy game creates friendships with people who think differently and are positioned by imbued social media socialites as cultural enemies. Dogs don’t have cultural enemies (cats don’t count).
A lost dog that has been found usually ends up meeting an elderly and sick neighbor who is stiller than he would like; a stray dog that has been found often takes a game day with children and dogs in the yard. Salt situations on earth become dinners followed by family devotions, prayer, earning a living together and, when the Lord allows it, saving faith. Dogs in crisis can be the bridge God uses to turn strangers into families.