Donut the dog is going blind. She barks at everything now. Our home is currently under construction and it puts her completely on edge. All her life, she has been a wonderful guard dog. She has scared off intruders during a break-in and we have been kept safe because of her attention and protective spirit, but her keen sense of awareness is now out of balance. She is slow to recognize my husband, the kids and me. She gets riled up and growls all day long as we come and go. Her security has been jeopardized and she feels insecure and unsteady. Because she can’t focus, things unseen are threatening.
Our family and surely your family too, has had some big nasty stuff to deal with this year. On one dark night, as we ached and grappled with the catastrophe in our laps, my imagination went into overdrive. I envisioned all the horrible things that could happen as a consequence to our trouble. As my fear-wrapped tears fell, I internally barked and growled at all the uncertainty and things unseen. My job for over 20 years has been to protect and love, encourage and teach my kids, and because I was threatened with insecurity, my focus got fuzzy.
As I got to my knees and tried to remain distraction-free, I failed. I created scenarios in my head of all the terrible things that might take place, and then the sweetest thing happened. One phrase from a Bible verse I had read many times popped into my head and calmed my heart. “Whatsoever is true.”
That phrase spoke and still speaks so clearly to me. The only things we need to deal with are those things that are right in front of us and are currently true. Each day has enough trouble of its own. When we look beyond the truth of the moment, we get paranoid, and quite frankly, annoying. A kind, old, and faithful dog will quickly set your nerves on edge when she barks at everything.
We live in a sinful and messed up world. We parent disobedient and stubborn children. We want to do things right and we fail. People are mean. Bad things happen, and when they do, we have to deal with it. We get to learn and hopefully we won’t make the same mistakes over and over again, but we will miss the lesson and retard the joy if we mushroom the misfortune into more than it is.
To be completely honest with you, some of the worst things that I imagined that night on my knees actually did happen. The wounds that were delivered after the original blow hurt just as much, but when they were delivered, I was equipped for that trial on that day. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
As parents we have a special alertness and we tend to be good at catching our kids when they mess up. A parent’s intuition is the real deal, but we need to be sure that our intuition hasn’t been put into overdrive and our keen sense of awareness gotten out of balance. When our kids mess up, they need to be corrected, but their failures are usually not indicators that they will end up as felons, dropouts, or losers.
Encourage and pray for your children. Bark loudly when you recognize danger, but make sure your lenses are clean. Your warnings will have a much greater impact when you save them for things that are truly harmful and at hand.
When we find our security in our kids or marriage or family, jobs, talents, beauty or anything other than Jesus Christ, our security is in great jeopardy. Christ is the only thing solid to stand on. When we depend on ourselves or our circumstances for self- worth or happiness, we will fail and be just as insecure as a blind, paranoid old dog.
Rejoice, Dear friends, You are equipped for today!
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true…. –think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 abbr. (NKJV)
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.” Edward Mote 1797
“The sky is falling!” Chicken Little
Beautiful.