This is a dark day in Delmar. Molly sinned. Her predicament is the sort of thing that might have caught the attention of quantum theorists like Robert Oppenheimer and Erwin Schrödinger. I’m referring to the “many worlds” paradigm. They theorized when something occurs in one universe, the outcome is different in all the other universes with the iterations depending on the possibilities. But first, let me share the egregious incident with you and talk you through the scene of the crime.
We still have a lot of snow on the ground. Snow brings out the puppy in her like it does with most of us. So, she has been pretty amped up this past week. When I take her out back to our little Garden of Eden, the first thing she thinks of is “What can I chase?” So, she typically runs out of the garage like her fur is on fire and makes a wide circling sweep in a counter clockwise direction. Our neighbor Bill to our right has most of the trees in our area, so there is always some action there. Today, however, Molly does not run her usual route, but she makes a beeline through Bill’s yard headed at the speed of sound in the direction of Massachusetts. I’m calling her frantically, she is completely ignoring me, and then, when she does stop to look at me to see what my problem is, she adds insult to injury. She pees in Bill’s yard while looking at me straight in the eyes.
Now, in the past, nations have gone to war over less consequential issues than this. But Deena and I want Molly to listen to us. We took her to dog obedience classes several years ago and we were told she was a promising student. Then, the pandemic came and she wound up with an “Incomplete” for the course. We also want her to respect other people’s private property even if she is occasionally indifferent to ours. For example, every night around 7:25 she scratches the living room carpet with her paw. We haven’t figured out yet why she is doing that. Does she want to go out or is she tired of watching “Jeopardy?” She’s a smart dog. Most dogs just bark and wag their tails when they want to communicate. But then, how many different ways can a dog say “woof?” Molly supplements her vocabulary with grunts, groans and other quasi-vocalizations to try to be more precise. She wants to communicate with us, even when she’s not hungry.
My first reaction this morning when she peed was to look at Bill’s house to see if he was peeking out of his window. Molly trots back to the house and I give her a stern talking to. I remembered what my Sergeant would say to me when I messed up while on active duty, so I try it with her. Trying to sound gruff, I say “Son, you done pooped in your mess kit!” Now, Molly doesn’t know what a mess kit is and she is not as worked up as people are today over issues of gender, so that part of my remark is wasted. But she does know what poop is and now she has this innocent, yet quizzical look on her face as if to say “I didn’t poop, I peed.” Nevertheless, she knows she’s been bad. I can tell. She has this “hang dog” look on her face.
We don’t say much to each other for the next few hours. She doesn’t want to push her luck by offering me her favorite toy and of course, I am trying to play “hard to get.” We finally agree to go on a walk around the block together and she is on her very best behavior. As we walk in silence, I think of Psalm 103:9 where King David writes of God: “He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.” I’m certainly not comparing myself to God, of course. If I had that sort of ego I’d be running for President! But as I dwell on that verse, which has comforted me more than a few times in the past, I wonder how dogs measure time? An hour to us might seem like a week to them. So, I decide to “cast off my nighted color” as Queen Gertrude might advise and I stop in our tracks as we walk. I know Molly is sorry for what she did, even as I know she’ll probably do it again. But I tell Molly everything is okay and that I love her. Then we shake on it. By the time we get back to the house, we both have smiles on our faces.
God knows we sin, and our fellowship, our companionship with Him is much more important to Him than our sin is. In Isaiah, Chapter 1:16ff, God says:
‘Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.’ For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
This is still a brand new year. What better time to reach out to God, admit to our sin and rebellion and be reconciled so that you may enjoy His love?
