Perpetual Four-Year-Olds

I had forgotten about the joys, the fun, the laughter and the frustrations that come with raising a child, I mean puppy. At seven months, Bella, my little Chihuahua, is going through some major changes and it’s a riot watching the transformation. She’s been losing her baby teeth for about a month now with only one canine to go, which I can tell is a little painful. A definite personality is emerging with little dances of excitement when heading for the door to go outside in the yard. This is her first spring and every trip out of doors is a new adventure filled with sights, sounds and smells for the senses. A short trip around the yard takes forever now with all the new smells. The yellow dandelion that drew her attention for several days had turned white ready to expand its territory with floating seed, just needing a little nudge to get started. Bella’s curiosity was that motivation when she bumped it with her nose. Some of the seed started to float off the plant and some stuck to her wet nose. She then decided to bite the white fluff and the game was on. At the end of chasing the floating seeds around, signs of defeat for dandelion reproduction were evident, with mouth, nose and eyes each containing feathery white seed stuck to the moist areas. Each new bird call turns her head and she even appeared to be frightened with all the commotion in the trees the other day. Of course play-time is the best. Running back and forth along the fence with the neighbor dog is a favorite. Sometimes she’ll fetch a ball and at other times she just likes to run wide open expelling all that stored up puppy energy. I have a theory that, compared to children, dogs are perpetual four-year-olds. They are totally dependent on you, yet are ready to conquer the world. They look to you for protection and fully trust you. They know there is right and wrong, and insist on pushing the envelop, all the while looking at you to see if you’re going to scold them. Bella meets and greets us at the door; ears up = good; ears down = she’s done something she shouldn’t have while alone in the house, generally torn-up some paper. Puppies are, like four-year-olds, not fully attentive, and do in fact ignore you when the feeling strikes, unabashed, unafraid and always testing the teacher’s patience while testing the waters of independence. They want to go everywhere you go. They love you in spite of the discipline and can’t wait to be with you at every opportunity available to them. Love is a wonderful thing.

[Matthew 18: 1-6] …Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” As we spiritually mature, in some ways we need to become perpetual four-year-olds in our relationship with God. We must realize everything comes from God and we are totally dependent on Him for our every need. We should look to God for protection from the evil one and fully trust in His Word to guide us throughout our life. We are not perfect for we all sin (disobey), and when we do, we need to meet God at the door of prayer with our head hung low and ask for forgiveness. We may get disciplined for our wrong-doing, but remember, God still loves you. Is it okay to explore and launch out into something new and different? Of course; but remember to always look to God for that sign of approval by searching the scriptures and learning what pleases Him. (2 Timothy 3: 14-17) Leave your inhibitions behind and submit to the Lord your God.