Lessons from Petra

Our recently deceased dog Petra was a Shiba Inu which is a Japanese breed known to be reserved and independent. He would come into our room at night and sometimes, I would wake up.   One night while I was getting back to sleep I began to think about dogs and how they are a unique animal that seems to be have been created to be "man's best friend". I wondered about the characteristics of dogs and what they could teach us maybe about our relationship to God. Here are a few of my thoughts. Bear in mind that our dog is an inside pet and I'm not a dog expert by any means and this is the first dog that I have ever had so these were just my thoughts and observations. 

Dogs rely completely on their owner - unlike cats which roam outside freely and can catch their own food, a dog seems to me to be totally dependent on their owner for everything. They eat when we say, go out when we say etc. This is how we need to be with our Father, relying completely on Him for everything. 

They love to be close to their owner - eventhough my Shiba Inu is independent he still likes to be around either me or my husband. He'll sit in the same room but just isn't the type to need to be petted, as long he is in the vicinity of either of us he's content. If we      move to another room he'll follow. I know other dogs are very much more affectionate and need a lot of petting. We need to love to be close to God.

They love to eat what we eat - this may be bad training on our part! but our dog knows when we have some juicy beef bone or possible left overs and he will wait until he's certain that he's not getting any before he'll eat his own food. When I come in from shopping he looks eagerly at the bags to see if  I'll pull out any goodies for him. We are given so much spiritual food straight from the mind of our Father and we need to be eager to eat it.


They can be stubborn - As I mentioned, Shiba Inu's are by nature independent. Sometimes he will be lying down and I will call him and he'll just ignore me. I might have to call him three times and make my voice sharp for him to even look up! We need to not have this characteristic and be receptive and quick to respond to God's direction.

Dogs quickly bounce back from correction - whenever Petra does something naughty and gets told off or spanked he'll slink off by himself for a while. It won't be long though until he comes shyly back looking for a rub. That's how we need to be when we are corrected and realize that it's for our good and God never stops loving us.                        

They fast and seclude themselves when they need to recuperate - A few months ago Petra was attacked by a couple of pit bulls and had some fairly severe lacerations to his back, neck and leg. He was in pain and shook up. When we brought him home from the vet he spent the next two weeks barely eating, not wanting to interact with us and hiding in the bathroom or other quiet areas of the house. Exactly 14 days later he emerged back to his normal self. Sometimes we need to take time out to fast and reflect to get ourselves back to spiritual health.

What are some of the lessons you've observed from "man's best friend"?

                                     

Remembering Mr Armstrong in my life

Today is the 29th anniversary (or should I say memorial) of Mr Herbert W Armstrong's death. I came into the WCG in June 1985 in England so I never did get to meet him or see him speak live. However, his impact on my life was monumental from the first time that I picked up the Plain Truth magazine as a teenager.

July-Aug 1983

First Issue in 1934

This is one of the first Plain Truths that I read in 198.  It had an article "Is all flesh good for food" which prompted me to take my first step by ceasing to eat unclean meats.

It's been a privilege to be here to see so many of his prophecies come to pass and continuing to unfold. This year is going to be very very interesting.

Inspiring Lives

I love stories about how ordinary people have endured through extraordinary trials. Last night we went to see the movie "Unbroken" which we were excited to see because we had read the book.
This morning I read an article in the latest Royal Vision (Jan/Feb 2015) by Mr Hilliker "Endure Hardness". They complemented each other well because the movie is about how Louis Zamperini endured a brutal time in WW2 including a 40+ day ship-wreck and a sadistic Japanese POW guard.

The RV article really brings out how much we need to push ourselves out of our comfort zones and appreciate our trials for the character it builds. It's such a hard concept for us as humans to embrace. I know I am "soft" in many areas.

If you want some inspiration and encouragement in enduring put "Unbroken" on your reading list (the book is 10x better than the movie). Another great read is "It's not what happens to you, It's what you do about it" by W Mitchell. He went through a horrific bike accident and was burned badly which left him disfigured, then 4 years later, he was paralyzed in a plane crash.

Some other inspiring books I have read are: The Hiding Place and The Helen Keller Story.

 What other endurance movies or books have you found inspiring?