As you all certainly know by now, my little dogs are a source of great encouragement to me. They are all spoiled, of course, but they act like for the most part obedient little children who adore me. How can anyone not like that? But our littlest one, Taffy, has been the source of many bulletins because of her very “different” personality. I’ve discussed her in the snow, I’ve mentioned she drags in things like dog bowl ice to melt on my carpet, and how overall she’s sassy. I’ve even talked once about how she went to church with me (twice, actually) while on vacation and behaved better in services than some kids I could name.

I think I’ve also mentioned the “I love you - don’t touch me” attitude she has, where she runs up and licks at your legs but when you reach down to scratch behind her ears she runs away. She’s getting old now, and some of what used to be black on her fur is now white. The lean foxy looking dog that yipped has given way to a snorting “full figured” barrel shaped canine with more of a beg than a bark. Considering she isn’t likely to live longer than 10 or so years, she’s past middle age.

When my dogs go up and down the stairs in my house, they usually run. That is, you can hear their feet like happy children pounding up and down (and up and down) the steps as they charge around the house. Thump-a thump-a thump-a is something I hear a lot. Except for Taffy. Because of her weight and age, stairs are no longer her friend. She perches at the top and yips at us to come back upstairs so she won’t have to come down. Eventually though, the smell of mom’s cooking or the sound of dad crinkling the wrapper off a block of cheese is too much for her and down she comes. She takes each individual step as a challenge, and nerves herself up for it. Putting her feet together, she kind of falls down to each one because she’s learned that this works for her. Once she’s down she’s the happiest little dog, and runs to tell you of her success. If she could grin, and I think she can, she would be smiling ear to ear. As it is she dances a little jig for you for joy.

Yes, there’s something here for us, quite a bit actually. First off, things change with age and that’s true for us too. Not just physically but spiritually. We get new things to worry about, new challenges to our faith. Money, health, time. But there are always hurdles in life, and when we are young and perched at the start it looks daunting. If we focus on the first one, it may not be as bad as we think so we nerve ourselves up and overcome it. Maybe it’s a temptation of what we are going to do with our lives, or something comes up when we are on our own for the first time. Mom and dad aren’t there, we have to do this ourselves. So we take that leap of faith and find one step in our lives isn’t so bad. Then we find another. And another. We start taking them on, they become easier as our confidence grows, and soon find ourselves at the end, back on level ground. How happy we are all that’s behind us! We rush to share the good news with our friends who’ve gone on before us.

I think of the time before Noah, when Godly folks lived a long time. Instead of having all that much more service to God, it seem like they fell away because they lived too long! Maybe with all those steps in front of them they gave up, and turned aside to something else. They lost sight of where they were going. I think it is easier sometimes to be true to God when we’re young and wide-eyed and “fresh”, rather than someone who is old and cynical. We get that way by letting things overcome us, rather than us overcoming them, and holding the bitterness in our hearts. How wonderful the simple tender attitude of children! If we keep our eyes on the goal, and stay focused, things like steps just fall behind forgotten.

By the way, Taffy can’t climb stairs anymore. She barks and calls to us. Eventually one of us comes and carries her up. Often times when you carry her to the top she turns around and licks your hands in gratitude. This is a lot from a “don’t-touch-me” dog. Sometimes there are obstacles in our lives we can’t overcome and we pray and ask God for help, and everything seems to work out. Huh, how about that. I wonder if we think to turn around in gratitude as much as we should.

Randy