Dogged by Grace

My  morning walk got my heart rate up in an unexpected way.

Having headed west on the road outside my house the past two days, this morning I took a left out of my driveway and headed east instead. The first house I passed was my neighbor’s newly-built  "barn-dominium", a massive structure with a beautiful wood deck circling the outside, overlooking the pond and the woods beyond. Enjoying a beautiful October morning, there sat my neighbors drinking coffee and chatting with each other, their dogs at their feet… that is, until they caught sight of me passing by.

Instantly on their feet, the two big dogs leapt off the deck and came racing up the driveway at me, barking furiously, acting aggressively. I froze in horror, tried to keep walking, but then just closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable when they reached me at full throttle, their owners’ loud hollers to “STOP!” falling on deaf and defiant doggie ears.

I’d met these dogs before, on a day when I’d stopped in to in to introduce myself to the new homeowners and welcome them to the neighborhood. The dogs sniffed me over good at that time and seemingly accepted me as friend, not foe.

Apparently, they had forgotten our earlier introduction. Thankfully they didn’t attack, but only circled me, still barking furiously, as I gradually inched my way past the house, waving at the neighbors in relief and gratitude that I hadn’t been consumed.

The dogs at the house two lots farther down had thus been alerted to trouble and were already barking furiously when I soon walked by where they were (thankfully!) securely inside a strong wire fence and continued on my way. I can handle any amount of barking; it’s big dogs running off leash towards me that terrify me! Another neighbor had given me a small can of pepper spray to carry with me for extra security if I insisted on walking on the road, after word came of a dog attack that severely injured a woman on a neighboring street. Of course I had forgotten to bring it with me today, and I likely wouldn’t have used it on the neighbors’ dogs, anyway. But I do like to walk on my country road on a beautiful morning, and I don’t think I should have to forego that pleasure on account of unsecured canines. Neither do I want to be eaten, however.

I decided to go a little farther than I had originally planned, just to give the neighbors time to get their pets back inside the house. But I changed my mind quickly when I saw that yet another neighbor had his two massive pit bulls loose in his front yard. They are supposedly contained behind an electric fence, and truth be told, I have never seen them outside of the so-fenced property. But I didn’t trust what I could not see and didn’t want to test the effectiveness of that barrier. I turned around and headed back the way I had come.

Thankfully when I reached the property with the barn-dominium once more, I was greeted not by the dogs but my neighbor herself, who was pulling out of the driveway in her car. She stopped to apologize profusely for her animals’ behavior, informing me that they weren’t wearing their dog collars that morning, which I assume are similarly outfitted with an invisible restraining mechanism. We parted on good terms, with an invitation to drink coffee with them on their deck sometime extended and happily received.

The term “dog collar” brought pictures to my mind of the clerical collar sometimes worn by those in ministry as public evidence of their calling. The sight of one generates assumptions and expectations of above the board behavior by those within the circle of grace… literally and figuratively. While not worn physically, all of us have certain beliefs which likewise limit our behavior, prompting us to act in accordance with the same. How often do we, as well, at times remove our dog collars… and act in spiritually unacceptable ways?

Maybe my morning “quiet time” as I prepare and then “dress” for the day is, spiritually speaking, fitting my personal dog collar snugly in place, that my actions may be pleasing to the Lord, and His blessings follow me wherever I go. If I’m going to be pursued by anything, may I be dogged by grace.

“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;”

(1 Peter 1:14-15, NIV)

(photo credit: Unsplash/FranTaylor)