A Muddy Mess

The door opened and she shot through it like the proverbial bat out of . . . well she ran out. Running as fast as she could she rounded the corner of the house and lengthened her stride as she headed for the farthest corner of the yard. Trotting along the fence line she circled the property returning to her starting point. Once there she stopped to survey her world.

Her horses looked on as she watched them through eyes of ownership--anticipating running them through the pasture and woods on their side of the fence. She loved stretching her body and running hard and fast through the open spaces only to dash into the woods to flush out a rabbit or some other wonderfully tasty creature. Catching it was a different matter, but the run was exhilarating and she loved it.

As she trotted along the fence line, she examined her world--checking it for things out of place; intruders; and of course, play toys. Checking the hay bales for an intruder was always fun. She could practice her hunting skills and torture any errant creature she happened to find. Today there was an added bonus. The aftermath of all the snow and rain, moving bales from the stack to the pasture had left deep mud puddle and ruts. She leapt from puddle to puddle; pawing the water out until they were empty; rolling in the wet muck; and generally having a great time.

When satisfied that the puddles were empty and all was well, she went back to the door of the house and told her people she was ready to come in. As she pranced into the room, she headed straight for her food and water bowls. Guarding the property from wayward mud puddles is hard work.

"Dita! Get back here!" her dad called. She grabbed a quick bite and ran back into the living area. On her way to dad, she saw her mom--"mommy, mommy, mommy, pet me, pet me pet me," she said as she sidetracked toward her mom.

"What is that smell . . . oh Dita . . . you . . . oh . . . I can't breathe . . . HONEY . . . get . . . your . . . dog! She is covered in filth."

About that time her dad and boy got a good look and smell of her, "Oh, Dita! What did you roll in? Never mind. Tub, to the tub, you have GOT to have a bath!"

It took both men to lure, drag, and trick her into the tub for a bath; ten minutes just to rinse her off; double shampooing before they could see the white of her fur again; then came the rinsing and eventually the drying before she was black and white again (instead of black on black). Once she was allowed back into the living area, she had a good shake and was ready to go out for another run. However, the humans had other ideas. This time she had to go on the leash and was kept to dry ground.

Party poopers . . . they spoiled all her hard work! There was an up-side though--she got to sleep in the bedroom with mom and dad. She got dad's and boy's attention all to herself. The cat got shut out and was jealous. Not a bad pay off for a bath.

Though we may be human, we are really no different than a pup who loves to play in mud puddles, roll in the muck, and find ourselves filthy and rather "aromatic" in an offensive manner to others. We find ourselves so caught up in the "joy of the moment" that we forget there are consequences and that others are affected as well. We don't find our own "aroma" offensive. We don't see how we may muddy the hard work or the space of another. We are too busy enjoying the moment.

Perhaps, God, like Dita's mom gets tired of our tracking in mud (impurities). Perhaps, God, like dad and boy, gets tired of cleaning us up after we have gone our own way and made a complete mess of ourselves and others. Perhaps, God loves us and has a plan for us--if we would only pay attention and listen to God speaking to us. Perhaps, God loves us--clean or dirty--and waits for us to turn to God.

As we wander through life--running from place to place; rolling in the mud; jumping into puddles; surveying our world--help us to listen for your voice and to follow your ways. Thank you for cleaning us up . . . even when we have made a muddy mess. Teach us your ways; to think and look before we leap. So be it. Amen.