Patience
This week we introduced a new family member to our household. Maggie, our St. Bernard puppy, joined us on Wednesday. My wife Nikki and I have been discussing getting a dog for a few months now. Well really my two daughters and I have been begging Nikki to get one. When we saw the St. Bernard puppies come available it sealed the deal for us. So on Wednesday I surprised my daughters when they got home from school. Lots of fun and excitement happened on that day!
I quickly relearned though that puppies are a lot of work. Every second she is outside of her crate she has to be watched. No don’t pee inside, stop chewing on that, don’t eat that, get off of that, no you can’t chew that, please Maggie stop chewing! Those are all common phrases that I have said 100 times since Wednesday. There is a lot of joy with a new puppy but there is also a lot of work. Right now we are working on basic skills of house training and what’s ok to chew on. We are also working on crate training. Some of her training is going really well like sleeping in her crate and being mostly housebroken. But other training is taking a little more time. Yesterday her and I had a showdown that I was determined to win. I wanted her to stay in the kitchen while I was doing dishes so I put up a little blockade to keep her in. She quickly found a way to get out. Over and over again I told her no and put her back in the kitchen. She is very strong willed! But eventually I won and she stayed in the kitchen but she sulked the rest of the day. Clearly not happy with me until the girls came home.
This week is our second week of our lent series entitled Endangered. Last week we talked about silence (which you get very little of with a puppy) and this week will be on patience. We will discuss how God calls us to be patient with one another and with God. I am typically a very patient person. I have always been told that I am very laid back and very patient in most situations. I believe it really is one of the gifts needed in youth ministry. But having a puppy has called that into question. I think Maggie is really testing if I really am as patient as I think I am. Will I tell her no she can’t chew on the couch every time she tries or will I give in? She seems to think I will eventually just give in.
Patience might be endangered in our household for a little while. But finding the patience to have a well trained dog will be worth the effort. The same can be true in all of our relationships. Learning to be patient in our everyday lives can at times seem impossible but is well worth the effort. Our relationships will be better and our stress level will be lower. Those things will also lead us to a better relationship with God.
Sorry to cut this short but I think you get the idea, Maggie is chewing on the chair now!
