When Nature Hurts

When Nature Hurts.  2 Timothy 4.6 – on Paul’s hurting heart

Hello. 

Last week, I had a firsthand lesson of the Father’s heart, represented by a mother’s heart—in this case, a mother dog.  Some might think this briefing trite, but it will reach some, and I know its lessons are valuable. 

The middle of last week, my little dog, Missy – a Pekingese and Bichon mix – gave birth to a single puppy.  He was born about 1.30 in the morning on the same day the U.S. soccer team beat Ghana, spurred on by an exhilarating early goal by captain Clint Dempsey.  What better name could be given to the new addition to our soccer-obsessed family than that?  We named the little guy Dempsey.

Hard to believe, but he weighed a little under a quarter pound, though the vet said he was totally healthy.  And the papa?  Oh, he is a family member as well—Chester, shortened from Manchester United, soccer team from the UK. (Both Missy and Chester weigh about 10 pounds)

What a delight to see Missy nurse and care for little Dempsey!  She only left him long enough to go outside for her morning constitution and then came right back to cuddle and keep him warm.  However, the next night something went wrong.  I had no idea, though they were just a couple feet from me, as I slept like a rock after being the labor and delivery nurse all night.  When I awakened, Dempsey was lying about 10 inches from Missy, totally still … I did everything I knew to do, trying to warm and revive him, just in case he still had a faint heartbeat.  Missy kept licking him and whining, clearly anxious herself.

No use.  He was gone.  I was so sad—not just for me, of course, but for Missy most of all.  I had never had a pet give birth, and had found the entire process magical.  It is miraculous, really, to see how God built the maternal instinct to birth, take care of the umbilical cord and placenta, into the little mother … and the instinct into the tiny puppy to root around for milk almost immediately.  Creator God he is!

With no SOP manual^*, I thought to return Dempsey to his mama for a little while, so she could see first hand that he was not alive any longer.  She continued licking him and trying to warm him with her body.  Then she picked him up in her mouth and tucked him near a couple stuffed animals that were around the perimeter of her bed—a soft Santa dogtoy, Winnie the Pooh, Piglet and a puppy.  Before long, I picked him up and took him from the room, wrapped his little body in one of my hankies, and buried him in the backyard. 

Why do I mention the stuffed animals?  Because when Missy lost Dempsey, she adopted the little stuffed toys as 

her ‘family’.  She brought them, one-by-one, all the way downstairs to her doggy bed, and protected them with her nurturing posture. She would not be separated from them for three days, not even to eat!  They became her litter.

I have not ever written about my dogs—(besides these two, I have a big ol’ yellow lab/shepherd mix named ‘Graycie’)-except perhaps as an aside, but this event really moved me.  It caused me to think about how marvelous is the created order.

It stirred such tender compassion in me for Missy, though I could do nothing but comfort her; and I thought how the Lord’s heart ached as he watched people desert Jesus, as they deserted Paul, and similarly, how he must ache for us, when we suffer loss or heartache. Now I know a little dog does not compare to our Lord Jesus, and I know a little dog is nothing compared to human beings like Paul, but—she sure can put us in touch with our emotions, and those that our God feels as well.  I watched her ardent searching for Dempsey, and it made me think of how God searches us out.  And five days later, as she continues to carry around and cuddle these stuffed animals, I keep thinking how God has built into Nature, the natural inclinations to nurture, love, protect and care--all because these come from the heart of our Father.

^{*–S.O.P. manual – Standard Operating Procedures}