We did something crazy - and blessed...

As you probably know by now, we did something totally crazy - and blessed - yesterday:  we welcomed a 9 week old puppy into your family.  The craziness of such folly is obvious to anyone who knows me:  I like the quiet and unforced rhythms of grace in my current life.  I am nourished by the stillness of the country morning - my rituals of writing, reflection, reading and prayer - and coming and going as the Spirit  and minstry calls. I have a full and rich time being pastor, husband and local musician/artist.  In reallity, I probably do not need anything else to complicate my life.

... but being open to God's grace is not just about me - and nothing makes that more clear than bringing a puppy into the mix.  She was the runt of the litter - a little be scrappy and very self-assured - but also tiny and gentle and in need.  How better to nourish an open heart?  The Monks of New Skete put it like this:

A relationship with a dog is open-ended and expansive, a unique opportunity that provides the means for enhancing the quality of life for both the dog and the owner. Each dog is an individual possessing possibilities that may truly surprise us. To be authentically human means learning to give oneself unselfishly, ungrudgingly, and to one who listens, the very nature of the dog calls this out in a unique and compelling way. In the very routine and ordinariness of a relationship with a dog, through the discipline and responsibility it entails, we learn about ourselves, about nature, about God and the spiritual path we are on in ways that would otherwise be unavailable to us. Without apologies, we have discovered that dogs play a crucial role in our growth in consciousness.

 All summer long I was wrestling with the blues - aware inside that something was brewing but not knowing what it is - but during my last pilgrimage to Quebec and my recent anniversary celebrations something became clear:  I'm being called into an ever more gentle style of Christ's ministry of presence.  And, truth be told, I need to learn and practice being still more than ever.  And who better to teach me than my new puppy partner in prayer? Look, I get that some people don't like animals and have no time in their lives for them.  But at this point in my life, I need help in listening and watching and waiting for the blessings in each ordinary day.  And now I have a helper...