A little over ten years ago I rescued a couple of pups out of an eight foot deep dry well that was under an old house. Their breed is unknown, but they have strong similarities to a Cairn Terrier and a Portuguese Podengo Pequeno. Whatever they are, they have been my little furry buddies for these years. They did live in the house when I lived in Arkadelphia with free access to the fence enclosed yard via doggie doors. It was discovered that pet dander was causing breathing problems with my wife. So when we moved to Benton, I built the little boys a house. They are twenty pounds each, so I built a house in proportion to their size. It has wall to wall carpet on a thick foam pad. It has a padded sleeping box inside, and I have provided both a heater and an air conditioner to take care of seasonal extremes. All the padding and carpet is easily changed out from time to time as they become soiled. Their little house is raised with an open dirt “basement” underneath so they can lay in the cool dirt under the house in the hot summer time and still see what’s going on around them. They have a lookout deck positioned so they have full view of the back yard and a view of the driveway and street that goes in front of our house. Their house is in an approximately 12 x 12 fenced yard, joining to one of our storage sheds. I try to turn them out to walk them twice a day for good health. Their names are Willy and Waylon, and they will sing a tune when they start chasing one of the rabbits that hang out in the back yard.
Every day I see a picture of God’s love in action. I provide for them everything they need, and I am greeted with unbridled love and joy. They know I won’t hurt them and I will protect them and rescue them when they get in trouble. Their training is by word repetition, and reward. Displeasure is shown when they do those things they know not to do. God’s love for us is such that he has provided abundance of all we need through his Son, Jesus Christ. He will never do bad things to us. Satan, flesh, and life itself will do that. Sometimes we get ourselves in trouble. But God’s love is there to rescue. We can be confident in that. When we know our loving Father, we trust him, knowing that together with him we can make it through. When we submit to his discipline, we are free to “run in the yard” in liberty. When we walk with him by his word and in the power of his Spirit, we experience unbridled love and joy in daily life. It is not a chore to walk with him. It is the highlight of the day. Father God is a wonderful master.
