Woman's Best Friend

Gryffin on adoption day, resting after his 1st bath.

by Rev. Laura Barclay

A few months ago, my husband and I adopted a dog from the Kentucky Humane Society. After three years of allergy shots, I was ready for my first canine. We had been to the shelter several times and never found the right one for us: relatively quiet, good with kids so my niece could play with him/her, medium to small in size, and a low shed breed. As we looked through the cages, I saw a ball of matted fur in the back of one off to the side. Large brown eyes stared out of a mound of dirty white hair.

The name on the card read "Walter". It wasn't his real name (if he was ever given one) but a moniker given by the intake volunteers, which didn't seem to fit his obvious youth. I slowly removed him from the cage and he walked around with me, hovering close to my ankles. While I knew we should keep looking at the rest of the dogs, this one had crawled into my heart. He kept gazing up at me intently and expectantly. I hated even putting him back in the cage to fill out the adoption forms--I was a afraid he'd think I didn't want him, or worse, there would be a mix-up and he would be gone when I returned.

In the days to come as we bathed him, re-named him "Gryffin", took him to the vet to cure his kennel cough, weaned him off of people food and tried to convince him we'd never abandon him, I learned that he was found at a gas station in the small town of Mayfield, KY.  He tried to crawl into the car of a newspaper delivery woman before she called the pound to come and collect him. He was transferred to Louisville because of his sweet nature and high probability of adoption.

Gryffin whimpers and cries during storms, watches us sadly when we leave the house but no longer slams himself against the door to follow. He has gradually eaten his meals more slowly since he trusts that there will be another soon to follow. He still has panic attacks, but far more rarely unless brought on by his bad allergies. Yes, he's a handful--with him I adopted his anxieties, his health problems, and his fears. But he's given me such a blessing in return.

Gryffin lets me style his hair between cuddles.

On days when I'm stressed, he jumps in my lap and forces me to play. He knocks me out of a downward spiral of anxieties because he is highly attuned to his parent's moods. Gryffin's demanding sense of play time forces me to exercise more which also lowers my stress and reframes my mood. More than anything, I have found it incredibly rewarding to help be responsible, along with my husband, for guiding this little guy out of his shell and watching him become more relaxed, loving and confident every day.

I'm learning about that oldest and most ancient of relationships and what having "dominion over the animals" means. It's a great responsibility to care for this puppy, discarded and unwanted by someone who didn't or couldn't understand the depth of that task. In caring for Gryffin, I'm also caring for myself. I'm being reminded of the blessing of God's creation, the importance of being connected to all creatures in it great and small, and my heart has grown larger and more grateful.

I'd love to hear from you: Do you have a special relationship with an animal? What have you learned from that relationship? Leave me a comment!

This column originally appeared in Next Sunday Resources.

A Surprise Resurrection Flower

by Rev. Laura Barclay

A few weeks ago, Ryan and I were surprised to find a bunch of stalks shooting up through our yard that we neither planted nor knew about. We began to notice them all over Louisville.

A few days later, they shot up about two feet and exploded in a wonder of pink and purple. The flowers were transforming ordinary yards into fairytale landscapes all over the city. If you examine the petals closely, they shimmer in the light.

Now the petals have fallen off and they've mostly disappeared, but for weeks we were astounded at one of many surprises our new home city, Louisville, had in store. Our neighbor told us that these flowers were planted decades ago and still shoot up every year.

It's a bit of a reminder that in the humdrum routine of life, everyday miracles can happen. We can still be surprised, no matter how cynical or immune to wonder we tend to be. So take a walk, look around, and prepare to be amazed.

Daily Garbage Pickup

by Rev. Rich Goodier

A few of us got together the other morning to clean up our adopted highway, Old NC 10, in time for Easter Sunday. One might ask why a church would care so much about keeping our roads clean or recycling or being careful what we buy. The simple answer is that we want to be a people who love this Creation as much as our God loves this Creation. We can be a witness to a world that cares little of Creation or Creator. As they see our character, they see the character of God.

But you know what? Sometimes, it is hard to clean up garbage! It is much easier to make a mess than to clean one up. God gave humanity a garden, and we quickly create garbage dumps. What are we to do as a people? Cleaning up Old NC 10 can be overwhelming some days. And I have to confess that sometimes I even get mad, picking up bottle after bottle with seemingly no end to the garbage my faceless neighbor is willing to dump. "If I ever catch someone littering..."

And then my God reminds me of someone who left heaven, the quintessence of purity, to live among us, a people of filth. He did not just live among us, but he took our filth and made it his so that we may once again experience purity (Isaiah 1:18, 53:5-6). Why would Jesus do such a thing? Why would he take on our sins, though the fair thing would have been to let us clean ourselves of sin, an impossible task at that? Because he loves us.

We discover through Christ's love, we learn to love him and others (1 John 4:19). Some of us may even decide to follow Christ as our Master. Our Master commands us to "love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34)." Love like Jesus loved? Does he mean to take on the filth, the garbage, the sin, of others upon our shoulders? Jesus once said,

You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38-42)

Perhaps to this list we can add, "If someone dirties your road, clean up his garbage." This is the spirit of servanthood (Mark 10:42-45). Jesus calls us to be the servant of all.

In other words, we Christians are the garbage men of the world, taking their garbage upon us as Christ did. Some people may see our witness, turn from their ways, and follow our Master. Others will never turn away but will receive the faithful witness of Christ's disciples. "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35)."

Rich Goodier is the pastor of Mount Hermon Baptist Church in Durham. This article originally appeared in their church newsletter.