First of all, just because you have a new puppy in the house, you still have a list of tasks which have to be accomplished. And you’re going to do them - you think. Puppies, like new babies, require an enormous amount of attention. Their learning curve is very high when they’re little. They have to be house-trained. They have to be taught to sit, to stay down, to come, and so on. They have to be taught what is appropriate to bite and to chew on. They have to be taught, in a word, manners.
Pepper is very intelligent - at least when he wants to be. He has learned to sit extremely well. I never feed him without making him sit first. He really likes treats and sharing whatever I’m eating so he’s learned rapidly. When I took him with us to the 4H Ice Cream Social, a little four year old told him to sit, and he actually obeyed. It was fun to see his obedience!
At the same time, he will not quit annoying the labs. He’s learned that Velvet is more serious about putting him in his place and that Ebony is more long-suffering. So he pesters Ebony constantly. He jumps at her, nips at her haunches and lips. The problem is two-fold: Not only is she extremely patient, sometimes she just retreats without retribution.
I can’t help thinking that we are much the same with God. As long as we can see immediate benefit in obeying His commands, we are willing to be obedient. But if we think God is ruining our fun and we don’t see any sign of immediate retribution, we are less willing to obey His commands. We allow our human nature to have full rein. Like I discipline Pepper because he’s part of the family now, God will discipline me when I’m not obedient. It’s part of my education in learning to live like a child of the King.
But there are other lessons learned from Pepper. You remember that list of tasks which I told you must still be accomplished even if there’s a new puppy in the house? I have been trying to ignore the fact that a new puppy means that list gets pushed back until I wonder what I’ve gotten accomplished the whole week. This was very obvious the day I was using the shear to cut the grass away from the grape vines. As long as Pepper was pouncing on the mulch when the kids tried to shovel it into buckets for me, I was fine. But when he decided to help me, I was completely stymied. There was no way I could use those sharp shears with his little legs dancing around. I was forced to actually sit back and enjoy the sunshine and beautiful spring day. It occurred to me that perhaps, just perhaps, I’m too busy. I don’t spend enough time just enjoying the days - the blessing from God’s hand.
Another benefit from having Pepper is the awareness that God truly is growing me; His discipline has been effective. I noticed in the past three weeks is that I have more patience than I’ve had in the past. As I’m training Pepper, I think of the progress we’re making, not the distance we still have to go. I enjoy him lying on my feet, instead of being frustrated at the inconvenience of not being able to easily move. What a blessing to know that God is changing me from the inside out!! With this in mind, I plan to enjoy his antics even when it means it’s hard to sweep the floor when the puppy bites the broom.