Our foster dog, Molly, had 13 puppies on the 13th of January.
We've been nurturing this litter of Australian Labradoodle puppies at our house for the last 6 weeks. The breeder has been coaching us on how to wrangle this small tribe of canines and it has been more than a full time job for my wife, who is an expert puppy whisperer and ground traffic controller. While Linda has really done the lion share of the caring for these cute piranhas, the rest of us have been trying to do what we can to help as well.
Raising Puppies
Helping raise an army of puppies often means holding one, or two, or more if you can, so that others can get special attention. I have spent more time holding puppies in the last month than I have in all my years combined. While we are all getting to be professional pooper scoopers, it has also been the time sitting and holding puppies that has made me ponder many things.
From Pondering to Relearning
- Quiet time is important. When you spend time evaluating your life, quietly – it is more likely that you will hear God’s still small voice and feel his heart promptings. It was Plato who said, “the unexamined life is a life not worth living.” When we take time to quietly think about our lives, as Christians, the Lord will begin to lead us toward truth and change. Whether you are holding a furry creature or simply a cup of coffee, when is the time that you sit with Jesus and consider your life, in a listening posture? Puppy holding has taught me to sit on the couch in silence more often.
- Joy is contagious. Puppies frolic and you can’t help but smile when they slip and slide all over the wood floor and hop over to tackle their brother. My time in Kona, Hawaii, included a worship time with a Korean band that led an hour of worship for about 800 young adults who were all jumping up and down to the K-pop sound, complete with dance moves that the leaders taught the crowd. It was loud, undignified, not really my style, but I loved it. I loved it because hundreds of people were giggling around me as they tried to sing and dance along with these incredibly free worship leaders. When you are feeling down and having a hard time finding joy, just putting yourself in the presence of those who carry joy begin to lighten your heart.
Life is precious and should be protected fiercely. There’s something about the fragility of a small animal that if not cared for properly will literally die on your watch. If one of these little guys were stepped on, dropped or squeezed too tight, it would end their life. That sense of responsibility either scares you and you stay far away, or you embrace it and find yourself falling in love with those you nurture. One of the smallest puppies, Sully, has stolen our hearts. I found myself standing in the kitchen many nights praying that he would thrive, that he would live and not die. We made sure he got extra turns feeding and he probably was held more than any other puppy. Because we have invested in nurturing him so much, we wept when one of our friends decided to buy him. We are glad, however, that we know that we will get to see Sully on occasion, and that he will be loved just as fiercely by his new family. In our relationships we must be investors. So often we expect others to invest in us, but we miss out on the blessing of really focusing on serving and blessing others. The amount of investment that you make in a relationship will be directly proportional to the fulfillment that you will have as a result. 
Seasons change. These little bundles of energy will be leaving in the next ten days to go to their forever families and we will have to say goodbye. That’s a painful thought to watch them walk out the door, but it’s also exciting that we will move on to our next adventure. When our friends are moving out of town, someone is leaving our workplace, or our kids are getting ready to launch, there is a grieving and heaviness that can come with separation. It’s important for us to express that grief and allow our hearts to be enlarged by not stuffing our emotion, but loving others in the form of the tears that seem to appear out of nowhere. Transitions are really hard, and none of us are really that fond of change.
It is my prayer for you today that Jesus will highlight all sorts of things that will draw you into deeper relationship with him, and the life to the fullest that Jesus came to give us!
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