dogs – The Refreshing of a Wild Rose

Did you ever suddenly become aware of quiet? Our life for the most part is quiet, we don’t have a lot of noise where we live. This morning as I sit here I have become keenly aware that the only sound in this house is the tapping of keys on keyboards, along with Dale tapping his fingers on the table as he thinks.

The quiet is deafening.

The quiet is our life.

I’ve had to learn how to be still in moments like these. The stillness that a part of me wants to break suddenly. The child part of me that wants to scream just to scream. But, the grown up in me knows that would startle Dale and as he is preparing to teach tonight, I think better of it.

This quiet is different than being quiet before the Lord. Quiet before the Lord, in my mind is sometimes loud. As I sit quiet before God my brain is full of praise and thankfulness for all He has done and is doing.

This morning as I walked and prayed, I noticed the quiet then. That quiet was filled with birds coming alive again in the spring air. Dogs barking in the distance. Cows bellow. God’s creation was evident all around me.

When I woke up this morning, I opened our living room drapes. In our backyard were nine deer. They stopped and looked at the motion of the curtains being opened. We watched them for about ten minutes. It was fascinating. Any movement we made, made them stop and listen more intently. The neighborhood cat jumped off the deck and the deer disappeared in the woods.

Quiet comes in many forms.

¹¹“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹²And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.” I Kings 19:11-12 (NLT)

I think of this verse often when I think of quiet. Too many times I expect great fanfare and noise and to feel the earth shake and the deep booming voice of God. I think that way I will have heard from God. This has never happened to me. But, often a gentle whisper in the quietness of a day like today I will get a nudge and know my Lord is beside me.

“Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper!” Proverbs 6:5 (MSG)

Our daughter’s family has two dogs, Winston and Clementine. Winston is a mixed hound breed, very loving, docile, and the image of a loyal companion who sticks closer than a brother. He stays beside you and goes where you go.

Clementine is a mixed breed also. We can’t figure out what she is. Half gazelle, half dying for attention and full on lap dog if she could get away with it. She is a small bundle of energy and love.

This morning I let the dogs out to do their morning thing. I knew I was in trouble the moment I saw Clementine bound down the steps into the yard. She had spotted something and she was going to get it. She was halfway down the steps to the beach before I could get down the steps to the yard.

I hollered at her, I clapped my hands, I used my deep voice. I watched as she kept going. I finally got down to the lake and she was bounding down the shore, sniffing and following scents that only dogs can smell. She would occasionally stop, turn around and glance at me, but her instincts had taken over and she was on her own mission.

I tried to be upset with her, but, I couldn’t. She was having too much fun. She didn’t wander too far, as rocks blocked her path and she couldn’t jump over them. Reluctantly, she turned around and headed back. I told her to go to the house and without slowing down she bound up the steps (there are 65 steps leading down to the lake). Winston was beside me and I told him to head to the house. He lingered beside me, making certain I followed them.

Clementine often reminds me of joy. She takes advantage to leap around and enjoy her freedom. She relishes a good run. She makes the most of moments to explore her surroundings. Her mixed breed is a combination of dogs who hunt, explore and run. She does what she was made to do.

“He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.” Psalm 18:33 (NLT) I pray that I, too, can be like Clementine. Relishing each moment, exploring the possibilities, and feeling the freshness of each day with delight.