Tag: dog walking

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The colors of grace

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Some “through the bible” thoughts from 1 Peter 4.

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11).

I love Peter’s description of God’s grace like the color chip display at a paint store. The variety of hues never fails to amaze me. Grace might look like love, but it can also show up as hospitality, stories of God’s power, or helping others. It’s like everyone has their own individual grace language or seasoning.

I believe it’s much easier to state what grace is rather than describe what it looks like. Grace is God’s gift of salvation for us through the redemptive suffering and death of his son Jesus on the cross. That is an unchanging, historical image of God’s grace. But putting on Christ in baptism (Galatians 3:27) will look a little different on each one of us.

Sometimes it sounds like a bold, confident prayer. Other times, it will be a simple song sung by a child. Sometimes it tastes like lunch with a dear friend. It could be the reassuring words of a doctor. Or even just laughter that makes you chuckle, too.

Since I really don’t deserve anything good from God, every blessing is an expression of grace. God uses people to deliver that grace, just as he used his own son to bring us life.

The other day I was walking the big dog when an Amazon truck pulled over for a delivery. A young man hopped out with a package while an older woman (his mom?) stayed behind the wheel. He exclaimed, “Is that a Great Dane? Is she friendly?”

“Yes. Too friendly. She wants to be friends with everyone.”

As he scratched behind her ears, he mentioned, “My grandmother had a Great Dane, a harlequin.” With a truck full of deliveries, he couldn’t stay long.

But around the block, the same truck stopped in front of another house, and he got a bunch of kisses from the dog. In her own way, the dog brought back sweet memories of an important person in his life.

Sometimes grace looks like a guy walking his dog down the street.

Posted in Life, walking

Intense walking and talking

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Image by Susanne from Pixabay

Every morning as I’m walking my dog, I pass a woman walking her dog. She’s memorable because she zig-zags down the street. She walks from one side to the other, effectively doubling the distance they walk each day. She’s also talking to someone every morning through her AirPods.

It’s dark at this time of the year when we pass each other at 6:30 in the morning. My Great Dane shows no interest in her Schnauzer-ish dog, and he’s not interested in us, either. But she always says, “Good morning” to me. I always reply, but she doesn’t always hear me, because someone else’s voice is in her ear. So she’ll turn up the volume and repeat, “Good morning,” and I’ll repeat my reply.

Who does she talk to every morning? I picture someone else, a sister or child walking their dog at the same time, catching up on whatever happened since yesterday. I imagine it to be someone in Eastern Standard Time, since everyone else would still be asleep. But maybe it’s a friend in Europe, where it’s at least six hours later.

By the tone of her voice, it’s intense. A serious conversation. No nonsense. Almost aggressive.

I talk to God and the big dog when I walk. My words are upbeat, light-hearted, and at times, silly. (When you’re talking to a goofy Great Dane, it’s easy to be silly.) I have never had an early morning phone conversation. I don’t know who I’d call. All my friends are still sensibly sleeping at that time of the day.

Posted in dogs, Life

Neighborhood walks and aggressive dogs

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Delphine Beausoleil on Unsplash

I think I’m becoming less and less popular amongst the dog walkers in my neighborhood. I’ve finally gotten my dog – Winston the Westie – to behave when we pass other dogs. But the other dogs haven’t gotten the memo.

I felt horrible the other day as we approached an eighty-plus year old neighbor walking a tiny chihuahua named Queenie. She saw us forty-yards away and was beyond excited. She started for us as he lost control of the retractable leash. I moved to the other side of the street, but the owner had to wrap his arm around a utility pole to keep from being dragged through the water-filled swale. His persistent obscenity-punctuated cries of “Queenie! Queenie!” fell on deaf ears as she fought the leash and lunged ahead.

There was nothing I could do. Whether I turned back to walk home another way or scooted past them as quickly as I could, Queenie wouldn’t give up. Winston was interested, but on a short leash with a prong collar, reminding him to pay attention to me, not her. We made it past and the aggressive barking subsided, but I didn’t want to look back. Next time, we won’t take a chance. I’ll go back home the way I came.

Another neighbor owns two Labrador retrievers, one yellow, one black. I haven’t seen them out walking, but they were out the other evening as Winston and I headed up the street from my house. Once they spotted us, the barking started, followed by frantic pulling to come and check us out. It was all the owner could do to restrain the two eighty-pound bundles of muscle and energy. I would have turned back to go the other way around the block, but when I looked, there was another person walking a German Shepherd I didn’t recognize. Between a rock and a hard place, we walked around the corner to get out of sight.

As he heat of the summer subsides, more and more neighbors have their dogs out for walks. I’ve worked hard to leash train Winston. He’s not perfect, but attentive and manageable. The other dogs? I’ve met a few well-behaved Golden Retrievers and one chill Rottweiler. The rest are out of control. Either they don’t go for many walks or they haven’t been trained.

It’s annoying. I know I’m the one who needs to adjust my route because I’m the one who took the time to train my dog. But I want those dogs to get out and see the world. I don’t think they get out much, and there is so much to smell out there (at least Winston thinks so)!

So, come on, everyone. Train your dog and enjoy some walks!