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Blogs by Alice E Lewis
Persistence 8/29/2006 2:26:33 PM
The neighbor’s dog wouldn’t leave me alone. He thought I was there to play with him.
Yesterday we went out to our country property. We will put a manufactured home there once we get done with the permitting process. Part of the property is riparian preserve and the county wants to see what we intend to set aside before they grant that permit. Most of the vegetation in the area is mesquite bosque which makes perfect cover for quail and roadrunners. Toward the east end of the acreage, it is so thick that it’s impossible to walk in it. Impossible for people but not for the neighbor’s dog which the neighbors are allowing to roam freely.
We came there to scout out a site for the future house and to pray God’s blessing on the place.
As I was pacing out the spot where the house was going to be, there was this dog coming out of the thicket into the open area. A red setter/lab mix. He had a golf ball in his mouth which he deposited at my feet. Then he pawed at it, pounced on it to make it bounce, picked it up again, and put it down at my feet. With questioning eyes fastened on me, his message was clear. Play with me.
Well all right, so I threw the ball as far as I could, hoping he would leave me alone. He was off with a flash. It took him a good five minutes, but he was back with it, panting. He deposited it at my feet again and looked quite pleased with himself for having accomplished that feat. I was there to do some work. I was putting cement blocks at the corners of where the house would sit and with string enclosing the area, so that I could envision how it would look. But this mutt would not leave me alone. Play with me. His eyes clearly implored that message. Several times he broke my string, dragging the cement block out of place. Play with me.
This time I threw the ball in the opposite direction, into a horse pasture on the other side. I was hoping that this would be the end of it since the horse pasture was fenced with 4”x4” stock fencing. The dog couldn’t get in. But this did not deter him. When he saw that he could not retrieve the ball I threw, he dashed off in the direction of his home and came back with another golf ball in his mouth. He kept pestering me the whole time we were there. Persistent mutt. I’m not a dog lover. But who could resist those pleading eyes? Play with me.
That reminds me of a parable Jesus told. “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Luke 18:1 There was a widow in a town who kept coming to the judge demanding justice. He kept putting her off. Finally he relented. “Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming.” V 4.
