Things... (by Becky)

Ok, here’s the thing. I can’t stand dogs. Cats either. Sure, in the past I’ve had delusions of wanting a cuddly little creature to care for. We even owned a bassett hound once. But since then, I’ve changed. I just can’t seem to see the value. Dogs poop and pee, ON YOUR STUFF. They are indiscriminate about what they eat and sniff, and then they LICK YOUR FACE. They leave hair on places and don’t even get me started on the smells.

Here’s the funny thing. In the last two days I’ve driven three dogs back and forth from a kennel. None of them my own, of course. (Here’s that good ole absurdity again!) Today I finally lost it in the grocery store when I paid $4.59 for a bag of Kibbles and Bits that wouldn’t have made it through one breakfast for my kids if it had been cereal. To the dismay of an innocent woman on the same aisle, I ranted to the air, “WHY would ANYONE spend this kind of money on a disgusting DOG? This is crazy!” She grabbed her bag of dog food and went the opposite direction from me.

And another thing… Have you ever tried to steer one of those race car grocery carts? The kind designed to entertain your kids by letting them ride in a car-like thing with a grocery cart pasted on the front of it. The result is a vehicle with the steering capacity of an aircraft carrier. It needs a foghorn to signal it’s arrival on the next grocery aisle. Now I know what it means to careen!!

So today as I careened around the grocery store with the race car cart buying water, extra toothbrushes, and Kibbles and Bits for a dog that’s not mine, snarling about it the whole time, I wondered why people were backing away from me slowly. It’s kinda funny now to wonder what they thought. Some probably just thought “PMS…,” some thought “Those poor kids. Somebody oughta do something about that.” Some thought a few choice names for me, I’m sure. Heck, I thought a few choice names for me!!

Reality is, none of them had been with me for the last three days. None of them were witnesses to the stress and strain of my life. If they had been, they would have without a doubt understood my snarl. They would have offered sympathetic looks, gentle advice, and free coffee.

So here’s the serious thing… THAT’s the value of friends in my life. While other people look on in judgement at my less than ideal behavior, my friends know all the stuff behind my snarl. Instead of being off-put, they wrap arms around me, make phone calls to me, and help me laugh about the hurts in my life. If that grocery store had been full of my friends, I would have left with a mouthful of chocolate, and a heart full of peace, knowing that somebody understood my plight. This leads me to another thought. EVERYBODY has something behind their snarl. What if we all understood that? What if we, as strangers, could extend a friendly hand and heart of understanding to those who are snarling around us? What if I were brave enough to wrap my arms around a snarling individual, instead of obeying the urge to slowly back away. (I hardly ever get this urge, but for some reason I see people do it all the time! I wonder...)

Here’s the real thing… There is One who never backs away, no matter how vicious my growl. He never leaves, no matter how ridiculous my ranting. He loved me first, and continues to love me, on days when I have capacity to return that love, AND on days when I don’t. It’s that One, Jesus, whose hands I’ll extend instead of judgement. It’s His heart I’ll show in sympathy to another struggling soul. That’s where it’s at. Not in the absence of bad days at the grocery store, not in pretending I NEVER snarl. But in knowing what it’s like to be accepted, even when I snarl, and extending that acceptance to another person out of love for the One who extended it to me.

THAT’s the thing…