Small dog, Big lessons

Another post never posted….

I never really thought I was a small dog person. I’m not sure exactly what a small dog person looks like, but when a friend came up to me in church and said, I have a dog that i found in the forest preserve and I do not know what to do with her. I knew I needed to come and see. Ella and I went together and what struck us both, was her little frame of bones and thinning hair. She was a puppy that was dumped in a forest preserve that decided to live. As I stare at her now, her little frame is filling out, her hair is growing thicker and her personality is, um, strong. We pass dogs on the street who are huge and she barks thinking that they will know she is boss. Nobody can really tell her that she is not the boss. She knows she is the boss. (Spoiler, not really.)

I am sitting here thinking about my mindset, my first thought. You know when tears are at the back of your throat? You try to calm yourself, tears threaten anyway. Or you overanalyze a recent conversation or meeting. Or somebody yells at you on the phone, and I have no idea what I did. Or….

Fill in the blank. It takes strength to change your mindset, strength we do not possess on our own.

¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
²⁰ I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
²¹ Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3 NIV

I remember my affliction. I remember my wandering. YET I call this to mind and have hope. You see what happens in this passage? Nothing changed in the writer’s circumstances, just his thoughts. Think about the morning, as the sun rises, the pinks and purples, the birds, coffee. There is something about the morning.

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word, I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.” Psalm 130:5-6

There is an eagerness in the watchmen to see the morning, because their shift is over! The Psalmist declares that he waits for the Lord with that same attention and hopefulness. He reads and studies with the delight that accompanies the sunrise. Over and over again, our hope in our circumstances is shaky at best, our hope in the Lord, in his word, etc.

“⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7

What am I to do? Rejoice in the Lord. Again, not in my circumstances, but in the Lord, trusting and waiting for him. Giving him my worries, praying about everything and giving thanks. Here’s the promise when I do this: God’s peace will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. There is no guard, there is no true peace without Christ.

Let me give you an example. Hypothetically, that a certain dog finds red velvet cookies and eats a few, unknown to the residents of this pretend household, and we notice some extremely odd trips of the bathroom. Call the vet. My first thought was panic. And crying. Yet, here was the funny thing. She was acting normally with a touch of mania. Called the vet, weeping, and as I’m on the phone, a certain human in this house, figured out what happened. Came up from his lair and announced that, hey, she actually just got into my snacks.

My first thought was panic. My second thought was grief. And here is where things are changing. My next step was prayer. The word is changing my heart and mind. This isn’t something to be applauded in me. It’s Christ in me. Did I spiral again? Yes, I did. My triggers to spiraling will probably always be loved ones, money, and health issues. Is Jesus changing this in me? There is a checklist that I have memorized in Philippians 4.

 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9

Start by asking these questions. I have an acronym so I can keep this close to my heart. TNRP LAEP. I have put peoples’ names to remind me the order. My brother, my son, the office manager where I work, etc. So I think through their names and remember Tim-True, Noah-Noble, etc. etc.

And the promise. The God of peace will be with you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.