Dear Fellow Children of God,
Have you seen the bumper sticker which somewhat
sarcastically displays the prayer, “Lord, help me to be the person my dog
thinks I am.”? It is interesting how loyal a dog can be and how close people
can get to their dogs.
Unfortunately this past week we needed to put our pet yellow
lab of 14 ½ years to sleep. This was not
easy. Susitna, or Sue, has grown with
our family. She would chase a ball till
her legs fell off. She would curl up
with a child or our cat. Sue would
nuzzle a person to get some attention and her ear scratched. She greeted the neighbors with a bark, and a
welcome.
And perhaps best of all Sue loved to go fishing. She would go in a boat on the river and fish
for salmon, or run along the bank. Sue would
curl up in the bottom of the canoe to go trout fishing. She would run to various lakes and spend time
on the ice exploring the woods and waiting for a fish to be caught.
I remember the night on Sheep Creek that my son, Josh,
and I were fishing and Sue bit the lure as it was cast. A king salmon also chomped down on my hand with
its teeth that night as I took the fish out of the net and released it back in
the water. So, that’s the night ‘I
caught a dog and got bit by a fish.’ (Ahem)
Perhaps you can tell that Sue and I had a special
relationship. She would listen to me
where she wouldn’t listen to others. She
would follow me wherever I went if she could.
That’s why it was difficult to take her to the veterinarian on Tuesday. But, Sue had gotten to a point where she had
trouble standing. Sometimes she fell and
couldn’t get up. She had multiple other
health problems including frequent bleeding.
After visiting the doctor we came to believe that it was the kindest
thing to do to stop her suffering.
It was not an easy day.
Susitna, Sue, had brought the love of a dog to so much of our
family. I had multiple family members tell
me they were praying for me. When others
heard of the events of the day I had many, many, expressions of sympathy. Others told me they had been led to tears.
So, while dogs and other animals
are part of God’s good creation, the love He calls for is love for Himself and
love for our neighbors. In Matthew
22:37-39 we are told, 37 Jesus replied: "'Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like
it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' We love our pets and
animals. Do we love God and do we love other
people as well?
I was amazed, not so much at my difficulty, but with the
outpouring of sympathy and concern. If
only we showed love and compassion to each other in this way, imagine how much
sweeter life would be. Amazingly, God sent
His Son from heaven to earth and has loved us sacrificially. Maybe the prayer on the bumper sticker should
read, “Lord, let me love others the way my dog loves me.”
A Child of God, Thankful for the simple love of pet.
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Here are some pictures of Susitna throughout the
years. https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/6058458981843461601
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ I am
sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and
friends whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new names of friends
and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first
time.) However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me
know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if
you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me
their e-mail address.
******
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