“That’s the ugliest dog in the world,\u201d the plumber said, looking at Tyra, our skinny, scruffy rescue mutt. At six-and-a-half pounds, Tyra lacks the cuddly roundness of most small dogs; she looks like a tiny version of a larger breed. Her now salt-and-pepper fur sticks out unevenly, and a paralyzed front leg causes her to lurch when she walks. She runs\u2014and jumps\u2014with ease, keeping us alert to what sits on the bar-height kitchen counter, a favorite Tyra noshing spot when we are out. (We learned this upon discovering a pawprint in the butter.)<\/p>\n
She might not be the best looking (or behaving) dog, but Tyra has taught me many important spiritual lessons.<\/p>\n
If I\u2019ve been gone for a while, Tyra yelps for joy when I return home. How many more people would come to church if we made them feel as welcome as their dogs do?<\/p>\n
At a young age, we learn it\u2019s not polite to stare\u2014and soon we don\u2019t even notice those around us. Out for a walk, I routinely ignore people on the other side of the street; Tyra stops and takes a good look. Applying my dog\u2019s skills, I recently asked a frustrated-looking cashier if everything was okay. He shared his situation, and I offered encouragement. Would it help alleviate the national epidemic of loneliness if we starting really seeing people?<\/p>\n
Dogs sniff highly undesirable things, such as the backsides of other canines and fire hydrants covered with \u201cpee mail.\u201d These habits that seem disgusting to humans have a helpful function, though; they tell them the health status and stress level of other dogs.<\/p>\n
When we notice that something is amiss, do we take time to ask questions? Or do we prefer to pretend that everything is fine? How often do we go beyond surface smiles to find out if people are stressed out or hurting?<\/p>\n
Dogs, of course, never repeat what they find out, and neither should we!<\/p>\n
When we go to the door for a walk, Tyra gets so excited that she rears up on her hind legs and paws the air. Every day. Five times a day.<\/p>\n
The blue sky. A flower. Your cozy bed. A glass of cool water. A delicious meal\u2014or even an average meal. Do you appreciate the blessings around you and thank God for them, with enthusiasm?<\/p>\n
Tyra forgives me even though I give her baths, clip her nails, and take her to the scary vet where shots happen. Why? Because I also feed her, walk her, and pet her, day after day. A solid, caring relationship puts the occasional painful moment\u2014or criticism\u2014into perspective. In a society that values combative language and ridicule, we need to be careful with our sharp words\u2014even on social media.<\/p>\n
Jesus used everyday things to make truth understandable: seeds, bread, sheep, lost coins. What other faith lessons could be found right around me? I should be looking for that food everywhere I go\u2014just like my dog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How many more people would come to church if we made them feel as welcome as their dogs do?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":411,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[81,50],"class_list":["post-410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-potluck","tag-jan-fischer-bachman","tag-potluck"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":412,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions\/412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}