My neighbor this week decided they wanted to get a new dog. Now my city has a ordinance that you can only have 2 dogs for several reasons. They already had 3 dogs, but the puppy they had was tearing up their house so they were going to exchange the puppy for adult dog. I like animals and my neighbors are nice so I really didn't care this was dog number 3. They have always kept the yard nice no unsavory smells from the yard :) or major long stretches of barking. They are pretty cool.
However, the new dog seemed to be not the friendliest and looks like it might be related to pitt bull. This made me a little nervous, but tried to roll with it. My neighbor's other 2 dogs are boxers. Great Dogs! lovem! super playful and friendly rarely bark and very sweet.
That night right after they got the new dog, I was awakened in the middle of the night at the sound of the dog barking crazy and of gun shots in their yard. I got up and rushed to the back sliding door and stepped out to see both my neighbors staring at the ground and heard another shot. I quickly shouted out "Is everything okay?" They shouted back "just a possum". I was definitely rattled just by the fact they shot a gun in city limits. Even if it was a possum, definitely extreme measures. I think they were trying to get the dog to stop barking, but still.
Then about 4 am, I heard a terrible screeching sound like an animal fight. Now, I have an indoor- outdoor cat so I was worried maybe the dog had gotten my cat. Thank goodness it was not that, but the new dog had decided to attack the smaller puppy that my neighbors were going to take to a new home the next day. My neighbors were screaming at the top of there lungs for the dog to stop and they started to pull dogs off each other. It finally stopped, but again I was now super rattled.
So the next day, I asked the neighbor what the dog fight was about if the little dog was bothering the new dog ,and she told me it wasn't a fight just one of the dogs got their leg caught in the fence. Since I had seen the fight, I knew she wasn't being honest with me.
This is such a tough place to be. I love my neighbors, but I don't want to feel unsafe either. I didn't know what to do, especially now that I knew my neighbor lied to me. I felt like my environment was totally out of control and stuck with 2 options neither very good. One: talk to the neighbor about my concerns and risk making enemies, or Two: not saying anything and potentially have an aggressive dog incident next door again.
The next two nights I struggled to sleep and obsessing over this, totally clouding my worship and prayer time. I was amazed at how much a dog could seep into and disturb my mental life. It was out of my control. I could say something to my neighbors, but ultimately it was out of my control. I thought "Man, If I struggle to give up this dog thing to God then how would I manage if I was truly persecuted.
Okay, now I know that my concerns are legit. No one should have to live in fear of aggressive dog and firearms being drawn next door. But it did make me realize that I have a hard time trusting God to help me handle these situations with His love, grace, and trust that He will work this out.
At some point, we might be faced with situations where we have to endure people being down right mean and even violent, our environment totally out of control without a say. How do we still cling to our loving God through these more minor situations like the dog or even persecution?
Honestly, this week I felt like I wasn't the best example of trusting in God. Not that I don't have a right to be concerned, and not that I shouldn't say anything, but I let it consume my whole being to the point of crazy.
But God is good! God helped me out, and I talked with a great friend this week that encouraged me. I prayed really hard about this, and in faith talked to my neighbor in love. I put my concern forward and that I wanted us as neighbors to be able to have honest open communication with each other. She seemed to take it well and did not yell at me or anything. Haven't seen any of the dogs for a few days now. Don't know what that means, but I have to trust God and keep giving it up to Him. I have done all I can to as lovingly as I can and did the best I could to keep a good relationship with my neighbors.
I am worried that this will cause a wedge in the neighborhood. I have been praying for God to open hearts down my street. Maybe being able to approach this conflict with my neighbor in a calm and loving way creates an opportunity that I don't know yet. Maybe, it speaks of Gods love in the midst of this unpleasantness. God has a way of making something beautiful out of totally horrible and difficult things.
So I'm not totally free of this stress, I don't know if the dog is still next door, or if my neighbors still like me or not, and I'm still struggling during the day to stop thinking about it. But God is mightier than my mental obsession over this and whatever is going on. I refuse to give in and let this take over. When I catch myself circling it in my head I pray that God will take it and I give it to Him, over and over. It's like a spiritual workout :) It's sometimes exhausting! But I feel better slowly, and just like a work out it will make me stronger in my faith.
- James 1:2-4 really helps me in times like this: " Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything"
What thing or things are you obsessing about that you may not have full control over in your life? Or maybe you are dealing with some serious persecution. Whatever the case, Take Heart! Give it to God! Over and Over if you have to and know that these are spiritual exercises that are perfecting your faith so you will be lacking nothing!
No comments:
Post a Comment