Passing the torch one pup at a time.

Our good old boy Jake...notice he isn't even licking that plate!

Just when I thought I had nothing to say for the past two weeks memories of our old dog Jake inspired me.  I was thinking of our old boy, he was such a great dog and I realized in a funny way he had been instructed just as Elijah was in the 1 Kings reading to pass his knowledge on. 

Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.”

            Jake had been king of our house for 14 years when our son brought home our little boy Roger.  Bringing home another dog was not an easy decision for us, after all while we were preparing for the loss of our beloved Jake and admittedly I was also imaging a life with worry free travel (I worry the whole time I am away from my dogs...yes I said dogs but I digress) and let's be honest I also dreamed of a time when there would be no more dog hair!

            Our son plead Roger's case saying "Listen, we need to get a puppy now so Jake can teach him how to be a good dog...and he doesn't shed!"  That was all I needed to hear, Roger came to live with us and soon so did his brother Coda.  For quite a while every time Jake looked at me I felt like he was saying "Seriously, must I tolerate these little rats?"

            Let's remember Jake didn't ask for this job and he would have been perfectly fine passing his last two years alone with us but some interesting things happened with our fine crew.  Jake began to run again, there was a new spring in his step as he tried to keep up with the puppies.  He ate more, there was of course a certain urgency to get what he could before they did, but he WAS eating more.  Once Jake realized we were not forgetting him with the attractiveness of the pups he actually began to mind them and the house while we were away.  Yes his hair was falling out in clumps and he could no longer see well but he was never going to be replaced.  Jake grew up with our children, we can't think of summers at the cottage, mountain climbs or the way he cared for me when I was sick, without thinking of him.

            Without even knowing it Jake did a fine job raising up, passing the torch on, to Roger in particular.  He did such a good job that in his last months, two years later, Roger took care of Jake lying by his side whenever he could.  On the day we had to put Jake to sleep at the age of 16, Roger stayed under the kitchen table with his head between his paws for two days.  When it was time to go out both dogs would stop and wait for their lumbering mentor before I had to physically shoo them out the door.  The torch had been passed and now what were they suppose to do?

            Roger is seven now and he has survived all five of the pets we had when he arrived, all cats and dogs have gone and he, who seemed like the weakest link (I won't lie) has remained strong.  Lately my husband and I have found ourselves more than once calling him Jake--our best old boy--by accident, each time we do we look at each other with such fondness for him.

            Last month our middle son had to come home to live for a bit bringing with him his two rowdy pups!  Roger had been lonely but maybe not "that" lonely.  While he was happy for the company there are many times he looks at me with the same eyes Jake did saying "Seriously?"  The first time he gave me that look I pointed my finger at him and said, "It is your turn now, someone did it for you, now teach these boys how to behave!"

 

Roger in the back "seriously?"

It's a sign!

           

A Good Sign?

          I recently brought a good friend of mine to the church I serve.  She took a picture of it and later posted it on Facebook.  As you can see in the picture there is a detour sign pointing away from the church!  We didn't even notice this while looking at the church to take the picture.

            Now there has been construction for the past couple of weeks in this area and each time I drive into town I try to remember which way I can go without getting stuck in construction and of course each day is something a little different as the construction moves down the road.  I imagine for some getting to church can feel like navigating through major construction only to find a detour sign at the door when they arrive.

            The "church” is changing...well...at least for some.  However the world is changing for all of us.  As the world changes, the church for the most part may seem slow to respond.  We sometimes send out mixed messages which only lead to a detour sign indicating there is a better solution, a better, community, a better place for comfort another direction to go rather than to God.

Galatians 1:23-24--they only heard it said, “The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.

            The negative rumors you have heard may have truth to them, we have heard them too.  We have been working on repairs and while certainly there are still problems and we do not have everything figured out but it may be time to give us a second chance.

            Paul may have changed his song about Jesus but what didn't change was his passion, the church may be finding a new way but the message, at least for us, is still the same:  it all comes down to love. 

How that love--God's love, looks may be hard to describe and frankly hard to accept but that has always been the problem!

Walter Brueggemann wrote in The Bible Makes Sense: "It is a free gift to have a brother or a sister to love.  It is a joyous task to love them in ways that heal and transform."

            So here is the truth we (the church...at least our church in Hallowell) really is under construction on the inside, the walls are painted, we are handicap accessible, and yet we understand that how we "do church" may not meet the needs of our brothers and sisters.

The Gift of New Beginnings!

           We invite you to join us in the work and we are willing to meet you on the road if necessary. All the signs may indicate there is another way yet those of us who have stuck around want you to know, in the words of Mark Twain, "The reports of our(my) death are greatly exaggerated."

            We are here, the church is here and there is more to the story----a detour doesn't mean the end but only the beginning of a new way.....so maybe it is the best sign to have outside our door!