Do you know what a lazy susan is, and by the way,how in the world did they come up with the name? Just in case some of my readers aren’t members of the dinosaur generation, a lazy susan is generally built into kitchen cabinets. It’s round and twirls so you can store spices and smaller items efficiently. Because of its ability to turn, you can access foods in the back very quickly. So, now that we are all on the same page, let me tell you how our sweet Lord is using my pooch once again to teach me a much-needed lesson.
My husband and I attended an inspiring concert to help us usher in this sacred Advent season. Sadly, this sacred season seems to inevitably invoke in me anxiety, fear, and inability to concentrate on anything of substance for nearly four weeks. Come to think of it, this is the time that everything around us is a reminder of the upcoming celebration of the birth of our Savior, the light of the world. What an absolutely rich time of year. Granted, most of the retail industry has been quite lacking in bringing out the Christ in Christmas, it is all about the bottom line that should be black and not red. However, it remains a holiday that is recognized throughout the world and for that I am grateful.
Back to the story. We were gone about nine hours. Dog lovers, we have a doggy door and often leave our boys for 14 hours due to our long work days. Being alone is nothing new to them…(please don’t report us to PETA!) We arrived home after hours of listening to worship music and enjoying a tasty German meal with a friend to find utter chaos in our home.
Somehow, only God knows for sure, our dogs broke through a metal gate, torn off another gate from the wall, and toppled over a plant stand. I couldn’t believe the strength of our fourteen-year-old hound mixes. One of our dogs was missing, Sam, and the other one barking incessantly Frodo. I started calling Sam, knowing how unproductive that was, (as this dog is deaf) and running around the house like a crazed woman trying to locate the missing mutt.
A little background:
Sam is a scardy-cat and it’s getting worse. When we are home, he huddles as close as he can to us. When I am having a quiet time, he crawls behind my rocker. He gets so close that I am afraid I am going to roll over his tail. In the past couple of years when we are away, he will go into a room, paw at the door until it shuts. The result is him being locked in a room until we get home to find scratched up wood trim and quite the mess. Yes, dear friends, we have learned to close all of our doors before heading out for the day. But this is our Sam.
Back to the story. After a brief time of being a crazy woman, I noticed our lazy susan was open, there were spices and packages of coffee on the floor. I then took a closer look and was shocked to see back haunches and a tail protruding from the cabinet. I also heard faint sounds of whimpering that was strangely similar to the voice of our Sam. Bizzare, right? I was able to move out the rest of the contents of our lazy susan, turn it around and help him to back out. This was the strangest thing I think I have seen or done for a very long time. It reminded me of that Twilight Zone where a young girl falls out of bed and gets caught in a fourth dimension. Do you remember that one? The family has a brief window of time to get her back home before the wall closes and she is lost forever. I do digress.
I hear you asking what lesson did I learn other than double checking the gates before we head out the door? It’s coming, I promise. But, here is my guess of what probably happened with Sam and what God would like to teach me in all this. During the night of this drama there was thunder and lightning of which, as expected, Sam is terrified. This fear gave him the strength to tear through the gates and head for a corner. Unfortunately for me and him, I have plants in many of the corners of my home, he got caught up in one of these plants, it tumbled down, broke into a ga-zillion pieces and made a loud crash. Now he is really scared!! He saw the lazy susan partway open. It looked safe, dark and the perfect place to be. He crawls in, and whoops, is now stuck! PS, I was happily surprised that he did not lose control of his bowels or bladder during this incident in this space, Lord you are always paying attention to the details aren’t’ you?
This experience made me wonder how often my intense desire to protect myself, has caused damage or missed opportunities with others. Have I been so driven to avoid hurt, failure, struggles and the work it takes to build relationships that I hide away? Do I value my own protection above anything else? Am I protecting myself from the storms of life, just to have missed the inspiring demonstration of God’s power in those storms?
I am naturally an introvert. I am filled up by being alone in a quiet place. Time with people I don’t yet feel “safe” with sucks the life out of me. It’s not that I don’t enjoy being with other people, it’s just draining, its work. I am hard-wired that way, God wired. Having said that, I think God may be showing me that I have been allowing this to define me more than was his purpose for me. He is showing me that I have used this as an excuse to avoid many situations. Being introverted does not give me permission to skip the commands in God’s word, to “go into all the world and preach the gospel”, to “encourage one another with Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs”, and “do justice, show mercy”. How can I be a faithful servant if I am not truly available and in the presence of those our good Lord places in my path? Every person, not just those I feel “safe” with. How can I be “the light and salt of the world” if I am “hiding under a bushel” if I refuse to be with others? Ouch!!
In this time when we celebrate the arrival of the One and Only Saviour of the world, our true light and hope, I pray my story will encourage you to stay out of the lazy susan and shine your light on a desperately dark world. To be salt to a world that is losing its flavor and allow yourself the privilege of being present with those who may seem to be unsafe. And lastly, to come out from hiding and be awed by the power of God in storms that only he can calm.
Blessings dear friends,
Karen