Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Bitter and Sweet (05/28/09)
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TITLE: Wonderdog | Previous Challenge Entry
By Anita Ellis
06/04/09 -
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Over the next few weeks, I lived in a constant state of exhaustion and frustration. I began to wonder if I had been overly-hasty in this decision. After all, I had only researched for a few years. Maybe I had missed something? I wondered if we would ever figure out house-breaking. I began to realize that the training process had more to do with training me, than my furry bundle of energy. I wondered if his paws were meant to be that large? He was constantly tripping over them. I wondered why he was so fascinated with potting soil, always taking a chomp out of a potted tree in the living room, resulting in a less-than-attractive piece of chicken wire in a prominent place in my home and increasingly filthy carpets. I wondered a great many things, and so dubbed him “Wonderdog”. And as he grew, so did my sense of wonder.
I had anticipated being healthier, with all of the walking I had to do to keep my high-energy friend happy. I had expected to not be so lonely, now that there was someone at home to greet me when I finished work. I knew, as well, that this creature who had finally grown into his feet and loved to bark at strangers from his perch at the bay window, had made my home a little safer too. My vision had been too narrow, however. Complete strangers, who would normally walk right past without so much as a nod, were suddenly stopping and chatting, patting my pup who was overjoyed at the attention he was receiving. Neighbours, who had been politely distant, were suddenly going out of their way to chat with me and play with the dog. Soon, this shy girl on her own was making friends, and even sharing her faith with people who had been strangers mere months before.
Even more surprising were the life-lessons I gleaned from Wonderdog.
1. Live in the moment. Don’t hold onto bitterness and resentment from past wrongs. Don’t fear what has not yet come to be. Enjoy now.
2. Sometimes it’s better to take a more circuitous route. There are many things in life to be discovered “by accident.”
3. Be open to meeting new people. After all, isn’t that why God put them in our path?
4. Life is sweet when you let yourself play a little.
5. God can use anyone, whether 2-legged or 4, to touch hearts and change lives for good.
As I write this, Wonderdog is happily snoring at my feet. I can’t begin to imagine what God has in store for me, or enumerate all of the changes that are taking place as God moulds me more into his image. But I can enjoy this moment. And that’s a wonderful gift.
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