It's a Dog's Life (Or At Least It Should Be)

We have a couple of the cutest, hairiest Lhasa Apsos you’ve ever seen. Actually, we consider them our furry children. The mom, Angel, is about 14 years old, and her son, Jake, is about 12. There is a distinct difference in their temperaments and it is obvious by their behavior which is the boy and which is the girl.

Jake is rough, always filthy from rolling around in the dirt outside, frequently comes in the house with a mouth full of dirt or grass, and when we see the roll of toilet paper unfurled into the hallway with half chewed-up pieces nearby, we know Jake’s had a snack.

Angel, on the other hand, is always clean despite the fact that her hair is mostly white. And she is very timid. Sometimes I'll catch her sitting quietly in a corner or under a table. It is only when she hears someone coming in the door that her guard dog instincts kick in and she’ll start barking until she knows it’s just one of us. And if someone laughs too loud, runs in the house or even pretends to attack me, the mama in her takes over and she tells everyone, “woofbehavewoof!”

She is very sweet, though. She follows me around throughout the day and lays in the same room where I am. And if she hasn’t seen me leave the room, my husband says he watches her as she methodically walks around the house, poking her head into each room looking for me until she finds me. She lazily wags her tail as she walks over to me and we are together again. She knows I love her and I take care of her.

The other day, Angel and I were in the bathroom as I was getting ready to go out. She was getting a drink of water from the dish we keep for them in the room and I was about to turn on the hair dryer. As I did, I looked over at her and thought for sure that her skittish nature would cause her to run from the loud noise.

But she didn’t. I ran the hair dryer while she continued to contentedly drink from her ceramic water dish. The scene immediately brought to my mind a part of Psalm 23.

“Jehovah is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” Psalm 23:1-2

Just as Angel was able to be relaxed enough to stay in the room and drink her water despite the loud noise because she knew I was near and she trusts me to take care of her, so we are able to relax even in the midst of noise and chaos and even deep trials when we are comforted in the full understanding that our Shepherd is near and we can trust Him to take care of us.

The more we know and trust the faithfulness of our Lord, the more we will be able to rest even while we traverse in the dark shadows of the valley. With confidence and peace we can drink deeply of His refreshing presence no matter what enemies may lurk because we know that the caretaker of our souls keeps watch over us and promises to lead us in the way everlasting.