Monday, January 24, 2022

Speaking in Tongues; Lesson from a Paralyzed Shih Tzu

 

Monday, January 24, 2022

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.  Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.  Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.  And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.  Acts 2:1-4

This is our resident human manager, Wellie.  You can understand Wellie’s language…if you’re listening.  His bark and stare are both loud and piercing.  His eyes stare a laser-hole right through you; it bellows and slashes-out messages: 

·       are you not wearing your hearing aids, Russell, boy…or are you just plain dumb?  I want to eat NOW…not 4 minutes from now. 

·       Hey, human…put me up on that chair…NOW.

·       I KNOW there are treats in your pocket…they belong to ME!

At times Wellie “says” things with those eyes which I don’t quite understand.  He gets a little louder at those times.  This past week I finally began to understand some of what Wellie has been trying to teach me.  When he wants something, he exhibits the most persistence I’ve ever seen.  He can be irritating to an impatient human, who would rather have quiet for his reading and study.  He’s not the “cuddly” sort of hound, unless he’s been fed (enough), and would sleep it off hanging upside-down in a windstorm at the North Pole.  Sometimes, when he’s calm, he’ll even let you pet him, or scratch his itch under the chin…just a little further up, and over to the left, please.  Sometimes an insistent bark is not about food; it’s a warning to get him to the outside business area before it’s too late. 

We’ve had to learn a whole new set of dog language; Wellie’s back legs don’t work much, so his needs push us in different ways than having a pet who can fend for himself.  The language of an old, partially-paralyzed Shih Tzu has Biblical implications for the family of God.

The people that heard the disciples speaking in tongues that first Pentecost Day didn’t get what was being said, they simply figured the disciples were drunk.  Like humans trying to take care of a disabled Shih Tzu, they were missing something about what God had been saying to them for ages.  The message was this:

No matter the differences between you and the next guy, the fact that I love both of you, should tell you I want you to love each other, get along, and stop figuring-out ways to control each other; just do what’s best for the other guy!

Wellie’s been trying to get through to his dense caretaker for nearly 7 years now.  And while I’ve learned a lot about what he’s telling me, I realize, when it comes to speaking in Shih Tzu language, I’ve still got much to learn.  And that realization is 99% of the work of developing patience with the differences between us.

For You Today

In the human family, we have just as many communication-fails as when you try to understand Shih Tzu-ese.  But when you develop a little patience with each other, the joy of the journey comes back.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images: Russell Brownworth (own work)   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©    

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