My Two Dogs, and How They Love Me
I live with my husband and two dogs. His dog is Jazmine, a
11-year-old German Shepherd. My dog, Charlie Parker, is a 2-year-old
Havanese. They are two completely different dogs created with different
purposes to fulfill, each one an example of love and devotion... like
Mary and Martha.
If you aren't familiar with the story of
Mary and Martha, read Luke 10:38-42. In essence, it's the story of two
sisters who choose to serve Jesus in different ways according to their
personalities, Martha by working hard to make sure Jesus' physical needs
are met and Mary, who showed her devotion by sitting at Jesus' feet and
soaking up His words and presence.
Jazmine is our Martha
through and through. She is imposing in size and strength. She demands
respect and even fear for those who don't know her. I have seen people
pull out knives to protect themselves when they see her on the street.
She is regal and commanding, drawing attention for her beauty and
stature wherever she goes. Her romp is magical, but her stride
purposeful and her run is power in motion. She believes, without
apology, that her mission in life is to protect us and take care of us.
When
the house is full of people, Jazmine can't relax. She has to make sure
everyone is on the guest list and is welcome by us to be there. Then,
when she gets that message, they become part of her tribe, her extended
family. They become part of her protected circle. She roams the rooms,
checking on everyone's well-being, occasionally pausing to accept a
scratch behind the ears or gobble up a dropped morsel of food. Most of
the time, she is scolded and told to "go lie down", quit her fussing and
leave people alone. Her size makes it impossible for her to hide gracefully
under the table or beside a chair. She gets tripped over, pushed aside
and stepped on, but that doesn't deter her efforts to make her rounds
over and over throughout the event. She exhausts us and herself with
her nervous pacing and checking. If we lose our patience and regale her
to the garage, she gets extremely offended and will whine, scratch and
bark incessantly until we give up and let her back in.
If a
baby is crying, she gets worried; if someone laughs too loud, she has
to jump up to see why. Her large, pointed ears are always alert and
even lying down, there is a tension in her shoulders, she is ready to
leap to our defense at a moment's threat, protect us from attack. Even
if she is familiar with our guests, Jaz is not amused by those who
overstay their welcome or create chaos in our home. As people start to
leave, she is visibly relieved and gradually relaxes back to her more
casual guard dog mode, curled up by the front door.
Jazmine
is not very affectionate unless it's her idea. She does not like to be
cuddled, hugged or embraced in any way. I think it makes her feel
trapped and less able to do her job, which is to stand alert and ready
to attack whatever or whomever is harming us. In her 11 years of life,
she has never actually witnessed anyone attempting to harm us, mind
you. So there's no precedence, no memory of needing to act quickly, no
training to "sic em" ever occurred. It's pure instinct, simple and
true. Jazmine knows her purpose and pursues excellence and discipline
in carrying out her inner drive to protect and defend. I have no doubt
she would and could kill someone if necessary. And as irritated as I
get with her hovering and restlessness sometimes, I am grateful for her
devotion and how safe I feel when I am with her.
Charlie
Parker, on the other hand is most definitely our Mary. Nothing matters
to Charlie but showing and receiving love and affection. He is loyal to
us, but friendly to everyone. Charlie doesn't understand why anyone
would NOT want him in their lap, jumping up to lick their hand, or
following them around the house from room to room. I never really
understood the term "nipping at your heels" until we adopted Charlie.
He literally follows me so closely, his teeth catch on my legs and feet
as he attempts to keep up and not be left behind.
Charlie
is passionate about being in my company. He waits for me every morning
right outside my door. If I peek out to look for him, he is at
attention, his whole body wound up tensely as he eagerly awaits my
appearance! When I come home from work, he is waiting at the garage
door. He leaps and dances on my feet, insisting on immediate greetings before I can even set my purse on the counter. He twirls and flips and
I imagine, if it was possible, he would even sing and giggle in glee.
The minute I sit down in my chair to check my email, he plants himself
at my feet, sitting like a good boy, looking up eagerly, trying to catch
my eye. If I even glance in his direction, he assumes this is an
invitation to barrel into my lap, lick my face, nuzzle into my hair and
sabotage my efforts to relax. If I push him away or ignore him, he
pouts for awhile before hopping off to see if Warren is available to
play. But he always returns to me before long. He knows who his master
is and I am his chosen source of devotion and companionship!
Like
Jazmine, Charlie is unapologetic in his commitment to fulfilling what
he believes his destiny and purpose in life. He was born to love and be
loved. He knows he is adorable and irresistible but not for arrogance
sake, simply to bring me more joy when I look at him and his sweet
face. He lives for affection and attention, but not selfishly, instead
to give me a reason to practice loving, focusing on his dedication to
me. Even if I get irritated and weary of his constant presence and
demands, he only lays low long enough to make me miss him and appreciate
his returning adoration.
Many people think that Jesus
preferred Mary as he seemed to scold Martha when she complained about
her sister's lack of assistance with all the duties of the evening. He
said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many
things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen
what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” And it does
seem to sound like Jesus is putting Martha in her place.
But
I tend to wonder (as a person who is more Martha-esque at times), if
Jesus was simply reminding Martha that she needed to allow and respect
Mary for being the person she was called to be. Mary didn't apologize
for her display of devotion to Jesus. She was loving him in the only
way she knew how, by giving him her complete attention. She was at his
feet, listening, soaking in his presence. The "better" thing that Mary
chose was simply to be at peace with who she was made to be, what she
was called to do to show her love and adoration to her master.
The
better choice for Martha would have been not to be "worried and upset
with many things", but instead to understand that her personality, her
way of loving Jesus was to serve him and his physical needs, with food
and drink and a warm, relaxing home in which to rest. If she really
wanted to please him, she would have instead been confident and
determined to be the person she was created to be, allowing Mary to do
the same. Instead, she complains to Jesus about her sister not being
more like her.
Mary was born to love by listening.
Martha was created to love by serving. Does this mean that Mary never
served and Martha never listened? Probably not, because we all have to
function in the world, meeting the needs of the people around us and
balancing the many roles and duties that are required of us. But when
it comes to our passion, the unique way that each person responds to
loving the Lord, we must understand what we were created to be and how
we were designed to love if we are ever going to feel the satisfaction
of basking in the peace and presence of God.
We are most
at peace when we are loving God the way He created us to love Him. We
are the furthest from that peace when we are comparing our way of loving
God to another person's divine right to love God in a different way.
This is not a statement about tolerance for every religion or
non-religion on the planet. This is my way of reminding myself that I
am not to be "worried and upset" with how I perceive my neighbor loving
God. I am only required to attend to my own minute-by-minute efforts to
love God in the way He created me to love Him.
Is Charlie
a better dog than Jazmine because he sits at my feet and looks at me
adoringly? Is Jazmine better in her doggie duties because she would
give her life for me? Neither Jazmine or Charlie Parker is arrogant or
competitive in their method of devotion. They are unapologetically
confident in fulfilling their purpose of simply being a dog devoted to
his and her master. At the end of the day, they sleep soundly, knowing
that they successfully loved me the best way they each know how, for one
more day. That is peace, my friends.
