Loving ALL Of God's Creatures
Well, it happened again.
My husband and I have two wonderful dogs, which we rescued from somewhere else. One is a beautiful cinnamon-colored Golden Retriever. She’s really lovely with her flowing locks, and she kind of knows it.
Our other dog is an Australian Cattle dog. That dog is smart!
He’s smart, but he’s a little different looking. He’s got a great big barrel chest and four very skinny legs, and his coat is mottled grey with huge Dalmatian spots all over it. I think we could send him through a cocktail party with a tray of drinks on his flat back.
The first time I saw him, I thought, “What kind of dog is that?” — in a not so complimentary way.
My husband, who has a much more refined discerning spirit than I do, said immediately, “This is a great dog!”
I remember looking over at our beautiful Golden Retriever, and thinking, “Right.”
We’ve had both dogs for quite a while now, and every evening we try to get over to the Evansville State Hospital grounds to walk them.
So many times, this is the scenario that develops. People stop and admire Molly, the golden, and mention her beautiful coat and its lovely color. Then, they stop and stammer, trying to be kind and find something nice to say about our other dog.
I’m starting to get my back up. I feel like the mom with the beautiful child and the not-so-beautiful one. Sometimes I say, “He’s really smart,” pointing to the cattle dog. “Hmmpf,” I think to myself, wanting to tell them, “You should see his SAT scores!”
In October, we remember our beloved saint, Francis of Assisi, who taught us about love – especially love for all of God’s creatures.
Morris Bishop, in his book “St. Francis of Assisi,” says this of Francis, “He loved all the aspects of the external world, from sun, moon, earth, fire and water to insects to stones in the road. Especially he loved living creatures.”
The stories about St. Francis range from truth to parable, but they remind us of his love for God’s creations. He believed, “Every creature cries aloud: God made me for thee, O man!”
I believe that Francis, if he were to meet us on our evening walk, would love to see our beautiful golden. But he might lean down and warmly greet our cattle dog.
What a great lesson for us all, as we meet the beautiful and the not-so-beautiful in our daily lives. Would that we be blessed with St. Francis’ love for all of God’s creation.
