From Stillness to Shambles

Poor hurt, stoned dog. 

Gentle Reader,

Chris went off to be a court monitor at Hoopfest today, so I had the house all to myself for a solid 10 hours. For an introvert (or a “Very High Contemplator,” according to the KLLP), the prospect left me feeling near-giddy. I love my husband. He’s my favorite person to hang out with.

But girl needs her alone time.

I started the day with a bath and this debate between Matthew Vines and Dr. Michael Brown, which tackled the hot topic of our day: Can you be gay and Christian? Honestly, it was kind of disappointing. I didn’t think that either man got to clearly articulate his points. However, this was done on a radio show and so there wasn’t the traditional debate format of opening remarks, rebuttals, responses, questions and closing statements. Soooo…you listen. Decide for yourself.

Painted my toenails. Surfed the web for a bit. Ate a little lunch.

I found myself growing irritated as I began to think about something that happened a couple of days ago and so knew that I needed to spend some time reading Scripture. Chris and I just began studying Ezekiel together this week and I didn’t want to get ahead of him, so I turned to Revelation. This is not usually my book of choice, but I heard a sermon recently that pointed out that there’s no need to get freaked out about Revelation; the point of the book isn’t signs and symbols, it’s God Himself.

So, I read. Out loud. Nobody else was around, so why not?

Highly recommend doing this. GOD WINS. Satan is a totally defeated foe. You don’t have to be afraid of him! Read and be encouraged.

Certain parts of the book did give me pause, though. This section from Chapter 9 especially:

…the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. – vs. 21-21

The outright stupidity of that just stuns me. There are many ideas as to how to interpret Revelation, but one thing that is relatively clear is the fact that the people know that they are rejecting God. There isn’t any ambiguity about their choice. Why, why, would you not repent after going through all the things talked about up through that point?

I don’t get it.

Midway through my reading, my brother stopped by and we chatted for awhile. By the time he left, it was late afternoon and time for my medically-mandated cup of almost-coffee. (Baby steps, people. Baby steps). I made my way through the rest of the book while the dogs snored on. Heaved a great sigh of relief and anticipation at the closing words:

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. – 22:20-21

Made myself some dinner and then thought, “It’s a beautiful evening. We should go for a walk.” Got the dogs all hitched up and had the worship music playing on my phone. We trotted out for our usual route, all three of us happy to get out a stretch our legs. Made it just about to the corner and the turning point of the trail when BAM! Out of nowhere comes this huge, white-and-gray dog. He completely bowled Benny and Blue over. (He came up on my blind side, which meant that I simply couldn’t have gotten them out of the way).

There was blood everywhere, Benny was yelping, Blue was panicking and the big dog circled around, teeth bared. He didn’t accidentally knock my dogs over. He was out to attack them. I was shoving at the interloper, screaming at him and trying to get him to go away. He finally went across the street and the boys and I ran home as fast as we could. What really gets me about all this is that not a single person even peeked out a window. I know for a fact that the guy out tinkering on his car heard the whole thing.

When did people get so cold?

It was clear that Benny was the one who was hurt, so I put him in the tub to try and rinse some of the blood off. Blue ran and hid in his kennel, which he always does when he’s upset. I called my brother and asked him to go with me to the emergency vet since Chris wasn’t due home for another couple of hours. We got Benny down there and, after a long wait, the vet took him in for sedation and to get him cleaned up. Thankfully, he didn’t need stitches.

The vet had us return home until Benny was ready to leave, about an hour and a half later. (By this time, Chris, tired and sore from a long day of basketball, had connected with me). When we returned to the emergency vet, there was an old man sitting in the waiting area, cradling a Papillon in his arms. I asked him about his little friend; my family had owned a Papillon, Murphy, for 14 years. He said that his dog was 14 and not feeling good. He’d had a seizure.

And then he started to cry.

“He’s such a good dog.”

Well, folks, that just broke my heart. I asked the gentleman if I could pray for him and he let me. I wrapped one arm around his shoulders and patted the dog with my other hand. I asked the Lord to comfort them both and to remind them of His love for them. The man buried his face in the dog’s fur and the tears flowed freely. We parted ways as he moved up to the counter to see about treatment. He ended up taking his dog home for the night.

I really, really hope that he knows Jesus.

And now Benny and I sit here on the couch. He’s doped up and his left ear is wrapped in a bandage so that it looks like he’s got a stump sticking out of the side of his head. I am thinking about how the day went from peace to chaos in an instant. And I long for the day when:

The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed way.

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”

…there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face… – Revelation 21:3-5a, 22:3-4a

Come, Lord Jesus.