MAX & THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

MAX & THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

MAX & THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

         Many years ago on a cold winter day, I stepped out of the back door of our house to trudge through the snow and bitter cold to go and get something from our old shed on the back edge of our property.   As I stepped past our dog house just outside the back steps, a large unknown dog jumped out of the meager shelter and shot right between my legs!  I don’t know who was more startled, me or the stray dog, but at least one of us nearly had a heart attack!

          After calming from the the unexpected near-cardiac arrest, I watched the dog run out into the bitter cold and behind our old dilapidated pick-up truck near the shed, and figured I would never see him again.  But a few days later nearly the same thing happened again!  There was this skinny, starving, hound dog hiding out in our dog house, trying to find some measure of warmth from the freezing winter chill.

          My wife took pity on the poor dog and put out some bowls of warm water and dog food on the back steps.  And such began our family’s association with the dog we would later come to call “Max”.  He was a breed called a “Treeing Walker Coonhound”.

          After several days of feeding and giving him fresh water every time it would freeze solid, our family began trying to approach him.  But every time anyone got near him he would run away in panic and fear.  It was sad and heartbreaking, as it became obvious that somebody had abused him in his past life, and he was nervous and afraid of everything all the time.

          ***I am now going to skip ahead in this story for a moment and then will come back to this tentative canine companionship towards the end.***

          Max was hilarious as he gradually adjusted to our company.  Once my wife tried leaving the back door open and so he could feel the warmth inside, and she placed his food dish just a little ways into the back room of the house.  As we stood far away and watched him through the open door, he tentatively came up the steps, but stopped his feet outside at the threshold.  He leaned in as far as he could, neck stretched out like an ostrich, until he could finally grab the edge of the food dish in his mouth and then quickly drug it outside to consume his meal!  But he would not come fully inside.

          Eventually, after nearly 2 or 3 months of living out in the cold, he gradually adapted and became a part of our family. It was an amazing transformation to watch.  Initially, even though he would come inside the house, his paranoia and fear would cause him to hide in the corner of the room behind the table, so no one could directly approach him.  He enjoyed the warmth and the soft carpet, but he was still hesitant and scared.

          Gradually, he began to trust us, to open up to our advances, and was changed by the warmth and love of our family offered.  His defensive and protective fear softened, and as he learned to accept our love, his demeanor changed.  It was a truly remarkable thing to behold to see the fear melt away and be replaced by joy, peace, and actual happiness.  He transformed into a dog that learned to love and live life to its fullest!

          There was nothing more sweet than watching him run with our boys on a hike, with his tail wagging in ecstasy.

          Or snuggle with them or our other dog as they lay on the floor.

Or find a comfortable place of refuge when he was tired from a long day...

  He was a beautiful animal and shared many adventurefs with us throughout the coming years that followed.

            As you can see, Max loved going on adventures with our family!

          You might notice another small scruffy dog in some of these pictures I am posting.  That dog’s name was “Shala”.  She was cute as a button, but her name was short from the Biblical verse in Isaiah 8:1, “Maher-Shalal-hash-baz”, which means, “Destruction is imminent.”

  And believe me; she lived up to the name!  But she is another story altogether which I won’t get into today!

        With Max, I think it was because of the emotional journey that he went through (along with us) from that of being neglected and abused, to realize the peace, love and happiness that life can provide, that we grew so close and attached to him.  I do not believe it was by chance that he was led into our yard and became a part of our existence.

Our adventures with Max shaped our family and brought all of us deep joy and happiness.

          When Max suddenly passed away a few years later, he left a deep hole in our lives that has never been completely filled with the passing of time or other canine companions.

          Our solace comes in knowing that he now runs forever free from his psychological demons in his new divine abode.  I for one believe, that loving dogs like Max all go to Heaven!

          In fact, even as I am writing this blog and scanning through his old pictures, it is with mixed tears of both joy and sadness.  His emotional journey has changed me and our family, and has given us a different insight into abuse in its many forms which is rampant among society today.  It also taught us of the truly healing power of Love when it is given and received unconditionally.

          But now I would like to revert back to an earlier part of the story, which conveys the main message I want to share with you today.

          It was back in those first tenuous days as Max hunkered around our back yard in fear and ran away in terror every time we stepped outside. There was one moment when I watched him through the window, from inside the warmth of my home, and I remember thinking:

 “If only I could become a dog like him for a short period of time… then perhaps I could convince him that I am his friend, and convince him to come into the warmth and love we have to offer him where we dwell.”

          As these thoughts ran through my mind on that snowy December day, the Spirit touched my heart and brought a startling truth and understanding,

“That is why the Savior did it!  That is why he descended from His heavenly abode and came down among us!  That is why a divine God and Creator would condescend from His throne on high and be born in a lowly stable!”

          Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came down so that He could be like us, and show us the way, and try to convince us of the reality of the love and warmth we can share with Him if we will but follow Him, and come unto Him... So that we can be transformed by the power of His love and dwell in the peace and happiness He has to offer all of us!

          That is why we celebrate the babe born in Bethlehem and call Him our "King, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace! " THAT IS THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS!!!

But there is yet another truth we need to understand about our experience with Max.  And that is that for the Lord's healing touch to have full affect on us, we need to reach the point where we can go "ALL IN" with what He is offering.

       Too often, we experience the gospel, or read the scriptures, or attempt to pray, but we are like Max on the back threshold of our doorstep in those early hesitant days.  We attempt to keep our feet out in the world, falsely thinking this is where our true safety zone is.  We stretch our necks out to partake of what is being spiritually offered, but like he did with his food dish, we drag it and ourselves back out into the cold, harsh world once again.

       Or we decide we want to enter in somewhat, but sit in the back, hiding in corners, trying to feel the warmth of the gospel, but not really opening up to the fullness of love which is being offered.

      No, it is only when we let down our spiritual guard and decide to go "All In" that we can truly become transformed by the depth and fullness of the love and healing Christ has to offer us.  Mercifully, He is patient with and rejoices in our efforts to pray tentatively, enter in hesitantly, and partake even partially.  But in reality, what He truly wants of us, it to partake FULLY and COMPLETELY.  When we finally open our hearts and let down our guard and quit trying to wander back out into worldly things, that is when the true miracles of change and transformation happen in our souls.

          Thank you Max, for helping teach me and all of us these profound and eternal lessons!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Crazy Carnival Rides

CRAZY CARNIVAL RIDES

            To say that I don’t like going to amusement parks would be totally incorrect.  In my younger days I loved a good Topsy-turvy, world-spinning, near-vomit-inducing string of carnival rides as well as any kid who likes an exhilarating, gut-wrenching thrill.  I’ll admit that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve encountered a few problems with amusement park rides… mainly that they’ve lost most of their amusement.

            Physically, I don’t really fit well into rides which are designed to hold more “Average” sized people.  You know how they have the little signs at the entrance to the rides which read, “You must be at least this tall to go on this ride”.  Well, they should probably have one that also shows, “If your legs are longer than this point, you will suffer knee cap dislocation on the first turn,” or “If your torso is this Girthy you will suffer rib fractures & collapsed lungs in the first corkscrew,” or “If your waist size is bigger than this, the lap bar will crush your pelvis at the first drop off” and so forth.  But I’m sure some fear of lawsuit or discrimination prevents such warnings, which I feel would actually be quite beneficial for a guy of my… ample body build. 

            I remember being with my kids on what I think was called the “California Screamer” at one of the Disneyland locations.  Crammed into the average seat and harness with my knees already forming dents in the front of the seat well, I knew there might be trouble before the ride even started.  But I was trying to show my kids what a fun Dad I was, so you know, I was taking it for the team in order to create the memories.  When the ride suddenly went from a full stop to about a bazillion miles per hour and straight into two consecutive upside down loop-d-loops, my spine literally compressed and I felt my legs go numb!  I then knew where the “California Screamer” screams were coming from!

            When the ride came to a much welcomed stop, I ran through a quick physical assessment and was pleased to find that I could still feel and move my legs and was able to walk (albeit awkwardly) without having to call Mickey for an ambulance ride.  My “Common Sense” personality cried out to the “Cool Dad” personality and jolted into a memory a long ago carnival ride, which should have taught me my carnival ride lesson many years before.

            I was probably around 14 years old on that fateful day, and a youth group from our church had taken a trip from our Idaho home to a neighboring state to visit and amusement park for the day.  We arrived early as the gates were just opening, and rushed inside so as to not miss out on any fun, only to realize that many of the rides wouldn’t be open for riding until another hour or so.  With only a few of the smaller rides operating at the early hours, my friend Brad and I scoured of the map of the park, and finally decided to head towards a ride in which its early victims were emitting what sounded like screams of delight.

            It was a Ferris wheel design with about 7-8 egg-shaped metal cages which not only went up and down with the spinning of the wheel, but also contained a lever bar inside, which if you pulled would lock your cart in position and allow you to make the revolutions upside down.  If you were a real thrill seeker, you could both push and pull on the lever during the rotations and engage in a fully brain-rattling series of forward and backward spins as you attempted to defy the laws of gravity.  Being just 14, and with they day just starting, of course we fell into the “real thrill seeker” category.

            We eagerly and willingly submitted to allowing ourselves to be strapped and locked into the cage.  I remember the carnival worker slamming down a metal bar on the door, which meant it could only be opened from the outside when the ride was over.  Of course at the time, I wasn’t thinking about anything but the thrill of the next few moments.  Nothing else in the future or past seemed to matter.  All consciousness was focused on the present exhilaration as the wheel began to quickly pick up speed.  Our shouts of excitement mingled with the riders of the other cages as we spun willy-nilly through the air.  UNTIL….. a great shuddering brought the revolving metal wheel to an abrupt and unexpected stop!

            The thrill was instantly gone, as my friend and I found ourselves near the top of the ride… our cage inverted… fully upside down.  Our cries of joy quickly turned into shouts for help as the blood rushed to our hanging heads and the harness straps strained uncomfortably against the weight of our bodies.

            The carnival worker who had so eagerly invited us onto the terrible trap was helpless to provide aid, as he flipped the switches and pulled on the levers without result.  Our pleas for assistance fell on deaf ears.

            My head pounded from the strain as we hung for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably a matter of only ten to fifteen agonizing minutes.  The lever bar was locked in position and despite our straining; we could not release it to flip ourselves upright.  Even if we could have removed the restrictive harness, we were still helplessly trapped in a cage which could only be opened from the outside and which hung suspended at a height which would have caused significant, life changing injuries.  We were completely helpless and unable to change our condition.

            Finally, a concerned park manager heard our cries came running to the scene. With expert precision he inspected the motor box and mechanisms, and within a matter of minutes flipped some switches and returned us and the other riders safely to ground level.  I had never seen a more welcome sight or concerned face as he personally unlocked us from our temporary prison.  My pain and anger was superseded by the gratitude I felt for this savior who had come to our rescue.

            At the time, I failed to realize the great lesson these events would teach me.  But as I reflect on what happened, I cannot help but recognize the parallels to this mortal life we live and experience each day.

            The world about us is filled with enticements of momentary thrill, excitement, exhilaration and pleasure.  All we have to do is give up our freedom and allow ourselves to be restricted and bound to the actions.  Addictive drugs, alcoholism, pornography, and a host of other lures promise a temporary release from reality and a false sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.  But what we fail to realize is that we cannot control the results of these choices.

            The false and temporary thrill is soon gone and we find that we cannot control the consequences.  Broken hearts and homes, financial ruin, loss of employment and health are some of the unexpected results we do not think about or foresee when we are focused on the satisfaction of the moment.  Then, whether we would admit it or not, our lives are turned upside down, and we are trapped in a prison of our sin and behavior from which we cannot escape without help.

            Luckily for us, we have an expert who always hears our cries, and is willing and ready to answer our sincere, heartfelt calls for relief.  He is our Savior, Jesus Christ.

            Only He can fix what our errant choices have broken, turn upright what is upside down in our lives, and restore us to solid ground and offer release from the prison which can only be unlocked from His outside help.

            As previously mentioned, despite the difficulties of that day and what I suffered, I returned to other carnival rides throughout my life, and as I explained, they brought physical distress and emotional suffering. 

           

           Similarly in my life, at times, some of the choices I have made have not been wise.  Despite our attempts at perfection, all of us repeatedly fall prey to errant choices and mistakes to one degree or another.

 

           I am grateful for the One who has the compassion, understanding and love to come to our assistance when we realize our error and call to him for help.  And I know from experience that no matter what our condition or state of distress, He will always come if we turn to him.  That is why we call Him our Savior!