Afghanistan Memorial Vigil

Ahhh  Spring Time has Arrived

My favourite season of the year is spring. With it comes the promise of new life. With it comes the freshness of the tender new leaves on the trees, the greening of the grass, and the return of the migratory birds.

Before we experience that part of spring, it seems that we must endure yet another snow storm!

As I sit by the window of my study the snow is falling relentlessly. It feels like it is bringing heaviness on a world waiting to burst forth with new life. 

Once this snowfall has subsided and the thermometer finds its way into the higher temperatures, we have to find our way through the muck and mire of melting snow and defrosting ground. It seems that before we get to the beautiful part of spring we must encounter the messy part.

I suppose it kind of feels like the heaviness of our Lenten journey – that dark, heavy place we journey through as we approach the new life that Easter brings to us. 

We all know that after the forty days of Lent we will rejoice in the resurrection. However, we must first find our way through those forty days. 

In our Anglican tradition, we are called to observe a “holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and by reading and meditating on the word of God.” (Book of Alternative Services, p. 282) 

Most of this is done with a relative amount of ease if we commit to it. The hardest part for me (and for most), where I find the muck and mire, is in self-examination. To truly look deep within ourselves is one of the most difficult things we can do and most of us avoid it. 

But to find new life, we must look within to find what we need to let go of, what part of the old life is in the way. Then we will, with the help of God, be able to receive the new life in the resurrected Christ.

The snow will pass as will the forty days. In the meantime, as you journey through Lent make a commitment to create room in your heart, soul and life for the gift that God has for us. At the end of both the snow and the forty days we will find new life as only God can give us.

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One of my favourite sounds is the thump of my golden retriever’s tail as he slaps it on the floor during a belly rub. One of my favourite sights is my golden retriever waiting for me when I arrive home with his tail and whole back end wagging in delight. One of my favourite daily activities is being greeted by my golden retriever … running between my legs and jumping around like a wild man, a wonderful wild man. And one of my favourite gifts is that brought to me by my golden retriever…sometimes a sock, maybe his chew toy, yes even the items he lovingly retrieves from the laundry basket. They are just for me, dog drool and all.

And so having done last week’s story about the South Dundas Animal shelter that deals with discarded animals, many of whom at one time probably did the same things for someone they loved and trusted and looked to, to take care of them, I have had a hard time thinking about these unwanted animals.

For anyone who is thinking of becoming a first-time dog owner, please think it over carefully, and please make sure you are absolutely ready for all the responsibility, work, time commitment and expense that comes with owning and loving a dog.

Please be prepared for medical costs and the costs of food and supplies; please be prepared to provide your guy/gal with the exercise and attention that will be needed; please be prepared to work through the puppy stage, the chewing, the barking, the romping; please be prepared to live with hair, everywhere; please be prepared to deal with floors made dirty by wet paws; please be prepared to deal with brown pee spots on your beautiful green lawn and holes freshly dug in your flower beds; please be prepared to have a vehicle decorated with hair on the seats and drool marks on the windows; please be prepared to have play toys laying around the house; please be prepared to deal with health issues that come up and with the fact that your dog will age and pass on before you; and please, please be prepared to deal with this as a loving, kind, humane owner that your best friend knows you to be.

And if you are prepared for all of the above and much, much more, and you decide to let a wonderful new friend into your life then please be prepared to be loved unconditionally with tail wags and big licks and much, much more.     BMc

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Volunteers are the engine of any small community. From youth sports to Meals on Wheels, art programs to festivals, many of the programs we enjoy in South Dundas would not exist without the dedication of […]