A few of you have asked what our newest family member looks like. There she is folks. Our sweet little Harley. It's been an adventurous couple of weeks in our house since Harley "meowed" at our door. Things are peaceful now. But, they weren't always...
From the moment she entered the house, it was a war between her and the two dogs. Mya seemed to be a follower, only running after her when she felt the urge to join Smokey in the chase. She is about four years old now, so her energy is well preserved for more challenging chases, like the squirrels in the trees out in the back yard. Smokey, on the other hand, is only a year and a half. He is up for anything at anytime. He began to hunt the cat. Day and night. He even skipped several meals. Shocking for him. He was determined to get close to the cat at any cost. The war was on. Harley was not having any of it. She would hiss, scratch and growl like the exorcist was in her belly. They battled it out for days. I have to hand it to Smokey, he never gave up. He was determined to break down the cats defenses, even if it meant getting his little nose scratched off. And he almost did. More than a couple of times, we would see tiny drops of blood oozing out of his nose. No matter how hard the fight, he kept on.
The kids were horrified at the aggression between the two. Harley was simply defending herself, but Smokey simply wanted to get close enough to sniff her. To check her out, as dogs do. But, she wasn't having it. He just wanted to find out who she was, what he could give her as a friend. The funny thing is, it worked. Each day, he would get a little closer. Harley seemed to be a little less intimidated. They began to get closer, and closer, and closer to one another. Less hissing, less scratching, less growling and less bleeding. We watched it unfold before our eyes. One evening, Harley was eating her food, and Smokey got close enough to her, to smell her, and even snuck in a little lick, on the end of her furry little ear. She gave him a quick hiss, when she realized he was that close. He replied with one loud playful bark. That was it. Their friendship had begun.
I'm impressed with the fact that my little dog never gave up on his new little feline companion. Although, she hurt him, hissed and growled at him...he never gave up. Never. He broke down her wall of defense. Now, they play like they have been long lost pals. When Harley came into our house she was weak, scared, sick and close to death. Now, she is strong, healthy, safe and full of life. She loves to play with Smokey's non-stop wagging tail. Smokey is finally eating again. (LOL) We have even caught them laying next to one another sleeping. There is peace.
How many times do we come across people in our lives, that have walls. All of us have had walls during one or more times in our lives. We all put up walls with God. We keep him out with our pride and our disobedience. We keep eachother out with our stubbornness, our pride, our need to be right, our fear, our prejudism, our hurt and our hatred. Just like Harley, we all have a story. We don't know where she came from, or what she went through to get to our house. All we knew, is that she needed us and we needed her. We push people away because they have walls built up. We push them away because it takes too much time to chissle away at those bricks of hatred, fear, loneliness, doubt, pain, pride and disbelief. When, the next little hit of our chissle, could be the one that breaks down that wall. We don't know why some of the people we know have hardened hearts. We don't always know who hurt them or how. We don't always know what sin, allowed them to become too scared to let their guard down. What we do know...is that love conquers all. Determination brings results. Love is always enough.
Smokey knew that if he would keep on trying to get close to her, she would eventually feel safe enough to be loved. I remember when we found our older cat Sambeaux six years ago. We brought him home and he spent the first three days, hidden in the corner of the kitchen cabinet. He would hiss at anyone, each time they would step a foot in the kitchen. He didn't even like us! But, we kept loving him, talking to him, waiting until he came out of his corner. Harley at least liked us humans. She just didn't like dogs. Who knows what happened to her before we got to her. But just like Harley...we never gave up on Sambeaux. He eventually crawled out of his corner, and came to us. Now..he is just a big ole' baby soaking up all the love that we can give him, and giving us lots of love in return.
How many people do you know that push you away? Maybe because they have been hurt by someone like you...a human being. It's just natural to push away what has hurt you. What you fear. They might even hiss and growl out of defense. It's just the pain coming out of the cracks of their walls. I have been guilty of saying things on more than one occasion, "She won't change. She's lost. It is going to take a miracle to change her. God has a big job ahead of Him." The fact is, I am the one who needed the change. I'm lost if I don't do what I know I should. I'm the bigger job God needs to worry about. There needed to be a miracle in me, to change my heart towards them. We should always be willing to love them back where they belong. Whose more guilty, the one who needs compassion and love, or the one who knows all about it, but is too prideful to give it?
Don't let the walls of pride prevent you from sharing God's love and compassion with someone who needs it. Some day...that person might be you. Or...at one time, that person was you. You'd be surprised to find out that the person that needs you, is the person that you need also. Don't give up on people. We must allow our pride to become weakened, and our love to become stronger. Keep pressing on with compassion. Speak life into their broken hearts. Soak someone with God's love today, and watch them get drenched in the healing. It will be a blessing for you too!
I Peter4:8, "Most of all, continue to show deep love for eachother, for love covers a multitude of sins.
Galatians 6:1, "If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself."
I Corinthians 1:10, "You must get along with eachother. You must be considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common."
Proverbs 10:12, "Hatred stirs up disagreement, but love covers over all wrongs."
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