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THE NOSE KNOWS |
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"Ask and it shall be given to you; seek
and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For each
one who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, it
shall be opened."
Mat 7:7-8
Strange title for a discussion of the above verse?
Well perhaps, but I happen to be owned by a 5.5 lb., one-year old, black
& tan Yorkshire terrier named Milo. We reside on a
well-trafficked, corner lot and constructed a scooped, picket
fence to border it. It was built with our Lhasa, Topper, in mind.
And so, the between-slat spacing was designed to protect him.
But, since we first brought Milo home he had been able to slip through
the slats. At first it was simple exploration, after that it
became compulsion. He couldn't go into the front yard without
trying all places for openings.
Initially I bought some chicken wire and strung it up to the inside of
the fence. That blocked him at first until ... Well, I admit
that I took the quick way out. I didn't bury the tail end of the
fencing. The wire was 30" wide and covered more than Milo could
reach on hind legs. Then, one aspect of his terrier nature
asserted itself. He began to dig. So I began placing blocks
of wood, limbs, and 2x4's at the bottom of the fence. I thought we were
safe. Then another aspect of terrierness arose.
Once again we found him outside the fence. I couldn't figure out
how. All the blocks I had placed remained and there were no holes
under the fence. Then I saw a point where the bottom of the
chicken wire was pulled away. He'd tugged away the bottom and
shimmied under it to freedom. From that time onward he persisted in
finding a new spot. Each time I would plug it. Then I'd look for
other similar spots and block those. But, I couldn't figure out
how he sniffed out his targets.
It was quite a while before I realized that his nose knew. He had found
that if his nose would fit into a spot the remainder of the dog could
follow. It made no difference to Milo whether it required hours or
days to accomplish the task. And when I was sucessful in blocking
him he yelped in frustration, dashing back and forth from target site to
site, clasping the fence in his terrier maw. Perhaps a spot might
have changed from the last time he looked.
Here's where the verse above comes into play.
Milo never gave up. It was as though he was pestering the powers-that-be
to release him. And he kept on plugging away, daily, hourly, and
momentarily. He never stopped or gave in!
This is also the verb tense of the verse in Matthew. Ask and keep on
asking. Knock and keep on knocking. Seek and keep on
seeking. Never give up!
Like me blocking the fence holes, my Father blocks any request I pester
Him with when it is not for my best good. Much as I did not
censure Milo for being a Terrier, neither does my Father censure me nor
does He allow me my absolute freedom.
It seems that the very process of keeping on keeping on actually trains
our desires and life goals. Perhaps one day Milo will learn this
lesson ... but probably not. Only the nose knows. |
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