Last Sunday afternoon I got a phone call from my neighbor. She was noticeably upset. Apparently Stafford had just, shall we say, “fertilized” her yard, and by the sounds of it, I’m guessing it wasn’t the first time.
Let me stop right here and say that I dearly love the neighbors on both sides of us. I could not have hand picked nicer people to live next door. We have a good relationship with all of them, and that’s why I was a little hurt that if it had happened before, I don’t know why she didn’t let me know about it at the time, instead of waiting until it made her mad.
But regardless, I try to be a responsible pet owner, so I apologized and told her I had no idea he ever went over there (except in the summer…he likes to play in their fountain), and that I would pay more attention when I let him out to do his “duty”.
Or is it “dooty”?
Anyhow, all of last week I went outside with Stafford whenever he whined at the door. Which was a lot because the weather was nice and half the time he would just walk to a sunny patch on the driveway and lay down. The other half the time he must have thought I went outside with him to play because he would run around and forget to go potty until we came back in the house.
In and out, in and out, in and out. All week long! It was really starting to aggravate me until Thursday night. On that particular night I took him out right before getting the kids ready for bed. We walked to his favorite spot and I was stunned to see the most amazing sunset reflecting off the lake in our backyard.
A sunset I would have missed if I had routinely let Stafford outside to roam on his own.
This weekend the kids and I watched the movie “Pollyanna”. It’s a charming movie about a little girl who looses both her parents and goes to live with her Aunt in a small town. Before her Dad had passed away, he taught her to play the “Glad Game”, which is basically trying to find the good in every situation. Pollyanna’s enthusiasm for life is contagious and she brings joy to even the bitterest of the towns people.
As we watched it, I was reminded about the sunset. Truthfully I was irritated about the entire situation with the dog. The gate on our fence is not working and if it was, I wouldn’t have to go outside with Stafford. I have better things to do that wander around the yard waiting for our pooch to do his business. I’m going outside with him like, 8 times a day, and he only poops once! Grumble, grumble, grumble.
But what about the sunset? And what about using those 8 times a day to take a break? Smell the fresh air. Go for a short walk. Feel the warm sun.
I once read something that said, “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses”. It’s all about perspective. And sure, sometimes it’s much harder to find the positive in certain situations, but when you do find it, it’s also so much more rewarding.
I want to leave you with one final thought on gladness. In the bible, there are 44 times when the words “be glad” were written. Not one of them says to “be glad when…”, “be glad if…”, or “be glad because…”. Just be glad. Or rejoice and be glad. For those of us who know the Lord, that should be enough.
“Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” Psalm 32:11
——————————————————————————————————–
What did God teach you this week?
3 Comments