Gibberish – School Plays! Part Un!

Anyone can say that they love animals, but do they really? I’ve met several people who say they love dogs, but when they came face to face with my Irish Setter they cowered in a corner in fear. For those who don’t know, Irish Setters are not vicious. They’re actually large bundles of love. In fact, I don’t believe that any dog is innately vicious. When you meet a nasty dog, look at the owner or previous owners because, more often than not, people are to blame for mean dogs.

I’ve also met people who say they love animals, but “not in the house where they might dirty up the place.” While I will concede to the fact that I personally don’t want to live in the same house as a chicken, a pig, a cow, or a horse, I couldn’t imagine living inside my home while part of my family is forced to live outside at the mercy of the elements. Radar (my dog), George, Violet, and Salem (my cats) are family.

Before I made the decision to ‘adopt’ a dog into my family, I did a lot of reading, a lot of thinking, and a lot of soul-searching. There were articles that came right out and said ‘don’t get a dog if… you don’t like hair, fur, or muddy footprints in your house.’ At the time, I had much younger children and, so, I had already committed to living with happy fun-loving little mess makers. Getting a dog wasn’t really going to stretch me at all… a little more vacuuming, a little more mopping, no big deal. True animal lovers accept the ‘bad’ with the ‘good.’

Cats. They’re different from dogs. Cats are very majestic and bossy. Dogs are easy-going, loving, and, most often, complacent. What do they have in common?  Both are loyal and loving. Each cat, however; will choose its own way of sharing affection and you pretty much have to go with it. You are not the ‘boss’ of the cat. The basic hierarchy in a home with both of these animals is… cat, human, dog.

A true animal lover loves all animals even if they don’t want to live with all of them. I can feel sympathy for the plight of a porcupine, but I don’t want to live with it.

A true animal lover would NEVER harm an animal or abandon it to the elements. All animals have feelings whether people care to admit to it or not.

The sign of a true animal lover? Someone who is almost always covered in fur, has ‘poop’ bags in their pockets, and has ‘pet’ pictures displayed right along with ‘family’ pictures.

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Last evening our Women’s Group at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Williamsburg hosted an evening with Nancy Horton. Nancy is a stay at home mom and mother of three boys.

What is so remarkable about this particular woman?

Nancy is a breast cancer survivor, author, and inspirational speaker. Nancy spoke with clarity and honesty about her journey with cancer and also shared her “faith” walk through life.

In speaking she opened up chapters of her life story so that others could hear and read of her struggles and where she support and encouragement to persevere in her life.

You may have heard Nancy in July on 100 Huntley Street. Her books “Hope in the Midst Darkness” and “The Big Fat Bald Head” are her way of providing a light in the darkness of cancer.

It seems these days that everyone knows someone whose had been touched by cancer. If not by cancer by another illness or grief, depression or issues within their family.

Nancy’s focus on forgiveness and self-esteem are important issues in life.

Our acceptance and love of who we are as individuals is an important step in our acceptance and love of others and of our love for our God. Nancy reminds us all again that we a NOT alone in this world!

I quote from her blog: “You have a Heavenly Father who loves you unconditionally and wants to have a relationship with you. He promises to never leave or forsake you. There will always be trouble in this world, but it’s always easier to go through life’s struggles when someone is holding your hand.

Let God be your answer.”

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