Life Lessons From Lucy

About a year ago, we adopted a Boston Terrier named Lucy. She came as an answer to prayer- our kids' prayers. Steve and I were completely opposed to getting her, since Steve has been bitten over a dozen times , and we didn't think we could handle one more thing. Steve was surprised however to meet two Boston Terriers in his travels at work. And the surprise wasn't that he found them, it's that he liked them. He happened to tell me that if there was a slight chance of ever getting a dog that it would have to be a Boston. When he told me that, unbeknownst to us, one of our kids was eavesdropping on our conversation. It was as if he was just debriefed on the location of a weakness in our armor. He led the other kids in spontaneous prayer meetings every morning for almost a week, and by weeks' end, we had Lucy in our home.

It took us about 3 months to adjust to having her (and her to being with us), but after the summer was over, she was officially one of our own. Her daily rhythm slowly merged with ours, and she became as much of the kids' wake up routine as brushing their teeth is. No matter where I travel in our house, I can expect the pitter patter of 4 little paws to follow. She knows when I ask her, "Where's Daddy?" to bolt to the door , stand on her hind legs, and peer out the window to look for Steve. I never thought I would say this, but Lucy has taught me a lot over the past year. Here are the top 5 life lessons she's imparted to me:

#5- Push Screens Aside. I remember the first time that Lucy told me, "Madam, I could care less about your laptop" I thought it was a fluke. But she made it a point when she wanted attention to climb up on her hind legs, and paw at either my hand or the keyboard to let me know, "Get off the computer and hold me!" That is the remedy for a technology soaked era that we live in. We need to know when enough is enough and opt for face time as opposed to screen time. 

#4 - Pursue Play. There is one tell tale sign that Lucy wants to play, and I know Lucy well enough to be able to see it: the playful twinkle in her eyes. She stares at me forever without blinking. Then if I twitch suddenly, she moves into downward facing dog position. When I start chasing her, then she begins barking playfully and chasing me back. I can almost hear her saying, "Catch me if you can!"  Life is so heavy sometimes, isn't it? There is so much yuck to wade through. Being a human means big decisions to weigh, lots of unpleasant experiences to be had, and frustrations that seem to pop up with more regularity than Old Faithful. I'm so glad that there is laughter. I'm so grateful that there is levity to balance out the dead weight of hardships. Lucy teaches me that not only do I need to play, but that I need to pursue play. I must look for opportunities to let laughter chop up my breathing, and loosen my tense muscles.  I need to always keep an eye out for a good laugh.

#3- Rest Well. It's not uncommon to see Lucy sprawled out on her tummy and a fleece blanket with her legs unnaturally splayed behind her, or basking in that one patch of sunlight coming through the window. The girl can play hard, but she can rest at the drop of a hat. Sometimes I feel guilty when I rest, because what thing am I checking off on my to do list by resting? Nothing. However, there is a productivity in resting. There is a regrouping of resources, a healthy aerating of thoughts, and a building up of potential energy that will be used to burst into kinetic energy when my rest is through. By resting my mind, body, and spirit, I'm giving myself permission to work as a more nourished person in the future, as opposed to more depleted. 

#2- Love Hard. Why does this dog greet me after a 20 minute errand with the same enthusiasm that Greek war heroes received? Simple: she loves hard. Lucy has perfected what I call the "thigh-high-five", which is her way of saying hello. She stands on her hind legs, and whacks the daylights out of your legs with her front paws. If the dog could spew confetti from her ears, she totally would. But she also seems to know when someone needs extra TLC. After an injury, or during a sickness, Lucy has been known to offer her silent yet steady presence to the down and outer. I want to love like that; to be magnetized to the ones who needs extra care. 

#1- Prayer works, But Not Like I Think It Will. I mentioned at the outset that Lucy was an answer to our kids prayer. Little did I know though that someone else was praying for God to act: my husband. You see after all his horrible history with canines, Steve was sick of it. He hadn't enjoyed dogs for most of his life, and with good reason. For him, dogs were a reason to be on guard. I think he really wanted to like them, but they didn't give him any reason to. So he prayed that God would intervene. It wasn't until 3 months after we acquired Lucy that it hit me- since we'd gotten her, Steve hadn't been bitten ONCE. It could be that now that he had a dog that he was more comfortable. Or maybe it was the fact that her scent was on his clothing, so it warded off any possible attacks. Whatever the reason, God chose to answer Steve's request to not be bitten anymore by giving him a dog. The only way I can reconcile this, is to file it under the "God works in mysterious ways" folder. Looking ahead, there have been and will be more times in the future when God answers my prayers in ways I would not have expected, or even chosen. His ways and vantage point are higher than mine. He can see the future. He knows what needs to happen for Him to be honored in my life. And I'll always stand in awe of how He was able to answer the prayers of my children and my husband (although completely different angles) with one flat nosed puppy loaf.

What have your pets taught you? :)