Lessons from Animals

I am not an animal person really. I prefer the company of people, but I do see the value of the family dog. Our dog is a trusting, ever-present equalizer. With her big, brown eyes and genial. tongue-out smile, she melts hard feelings and encourages sad hearts. She prefers to be in the middle of family gatherings and casually claims the fireplace while we watch movies on winter nights. During family arguments, she tells us when we have ceased to be considerate of each others, feelings by quietly leaving the room.
Animals have great worth in the human experience. I believe that the study of animal behavior can give us an insight on our own spiritual behavior. Tim Buehler, one of our BHHS teachers, spoke about vultures at the 2008 graduation ceremony. No, he wasn't warning our teens about their futures and the IRS. He pointed out that a vulture trapped in a wide open box will stay there until it dies, because it needs running room to fly. He used the example to show our young people that if they feel trapped they should look up.
I think many of us look for the Lord when we are in trouble. Unfortunately, we tend to forget about Him when things are good. We get trapped by stuff. There is a little monkey in India that is easily caught by a hanging gourd. The gourd has an opening big enough for the little fellow's hand. He eagerly reaches in to grab the goodies inside but once he has a fist full, he is stuck. His closed fist is too big to come back through the hole and he will not let loose the goodies. How often do we let everyday things and events get so important that we stop making room for God?
Sometimes fear traps us and we must calm ourselves enough to trust in God. Once, when I was a young teen, I was riding my Shetland pony along the county road. She stopped abruptly and would not move. I looked down and saw that she had stepped into a snarl of cast-off barb wire. She looked at me and waited. I slid off, and carefully extracted her foot from the vicious bundle, and we continued our journey. Most horse breeds, when encountering this type of trap, would freak out, becoming more and more entangled, ripping flesh from their legs. Many people think they have faith, but their fear enslaves them and they lack the total trust that comes with full faith.
I remember my Dad telling about he gila monsters that lived in the desert where he grew up. They are stout little lizards which possess great chomping strength. They are fearsome predators, but you could easily pack one home, by offering it a sturdy stick. Once it has a grip on the stick , it will not let go. Some people are not entering into a living relationship with their Lord because they will not give up control of their lives, They equate belief with weakness.
Our family had a donkey. Pedey had a free spirit which sometimes led him to escape into the neighbor's alfalfa field. This is not a safe environment for an equine. He had great patience and as often as you followed him, trying to catch him, he stayed one step out of reach. He didn't do a lot of running. He used his intellect. Some people think they don't need God if they can use their brains. Meanwhile, if they are eating heartily from a green alfalfa field, they will die.
I found out that Pedey's curiosity was his Achilles heel. If I sat down in the middle of the field, eventually he would wander closer and closer until his nose was in my lap, just trying to figure out my strange behavior. Some people's curiosity is their downfall, leading them to rash decisions and unhealthy, self-abusive lifestyles that exclude room for God. Of course, in Pedey's case, his curiosity was his salvation, bringing him back from a big belly ache.
One wouldn't think chickens were anything like people. yet, I believe it was B F Skinner who studied chicken behavior and applied it to child psychology, developing modern education techniques. We raised chickens when I was a kid. Watching those self-centered little fluff balls running around eating, sleeping and picking on each other, I certainly would hope my own children rise above that mentality. I much prefer the wisdom of the family dog we had at the time. Mario was very protective of the little chicks, and having been raised with them, had no desire to become a chicken killer. He watched over them as he did the rest to ft he myriad animals on our little farm. Kind of reminds. me of someone else.....