Follow up

Let me set the record straight. We will not, and I repeat, will not become vegetarians. Period.

Prey

I was just staring out the patio door watching my puppy as she eyed a Robin. In the past week, she started chasing birds. It’s quite entertaining to watch because she hasn’t quite mastered the skill of stalking and she just starts wildly running through the yard after them. At this point, I’m not sure the Robin has much to be worried about. Oddly though, I found myself cheering for my pup – almost hoping she could catch the bird. Now I’m a huge softy at heart. For Pete’s sake, I’m the one who rescued seven baby raccoons from being smashed at a busy road crossing (but that’s another story). One day in high school I hit a cat while I was driving... I had to pull over because I was bawling so hard. I’m the one always cheering for the antelope to get away from the tiger on the jungle chases or the buffalo to outwit the lion. I cringe at the moment when they make a kill and the poor creature lies defenseless – it’s almost as if my very being cries out against it.

However, as I’ve watched my pup grow, I’ve seen again and again that her prey drive is woven into the very fabric of her being. Nobody taught her that, it’s just part of who she is. It’s how God made her. Now, knowing that was God’s design, why do I struggle so much with it? In the wild, if that tiger doesn’t catch the antelope (or whatever else it’s chasing) and that happens often enough, that tiger will die. Now the antelope can eat grass and whatever other plants it can find, but because the tiger needs meat, I cheer against it. Why is it better for one to die than the other?

As I sat and pondered my “soft heart,” it dawned on my just how much a hypocrite I am. I hate the thought of death, yet I don’t bat an eye at eating meat every night for dinner because I don’t have to see the process it goes through (unless I’m butchering chickens at the Ternes farm). I totally understand where vegetarians are coming from and their plight for people to really think about the food they eat. I’ve pondered becoming a vegetarian a time or two, knowing that my lifestyle affects the lives of numerous creatures. But watching my pup I started to think about it differently.

I firmly believe God didn’t originally design our planet to work in this fashion – with death of one creature being needed to bring life to another, and I don’t believe it will always be like this. One day Christ will return and there will be a new heaven and a new earth and I don’t think carnage will be a necessary part of it. However, right now, it is. And if I can’t accept that God designed it that way, than I need to reevaluate how I view God. Does that mean I’ll go hunting just for sport? No. Nor will I probably ever find any joy in seeing a creature die (and it will most likely always cause me to cry). I firmly believe that life should be highly valued and the weight of death strongly considered. I also believe humans are MUCH more valuable than animals. With that said, I do believe God designed some creatures to be prey and some creatures to be predators.

That statement reminds me of Romans 9 where it talks about God designing some people for noble purposes and some for common use, how some are designed to be objects of righteousness, and some objects of wrath. I don’t understand this, and I can’t say I really like it. If I could have my way, everyone would repent, and everyone would go to heaven, but that’s not the way it works. On the flip-side, I’m so grateful that we’re not all damned as we deserve to be, but that God has chosen to save some and desires for all to be saved. God is sovereign, He is good, and He is also just. Those things ALL must fit together. When I don’t understand a piece of it, I can’t just make up my own theology or discredit His design. After all, death had to come to His Son, a painful, bloody death, in order for me to be made righteous. God has a purpose in His plan and I need to accept the good parts, the bad parts, and the parts that I don’t understand.

Thanks pup for chasing that bird and bringing about a theological discussion in my head. I’ll try not to cry when you finally catch one some day.

Meet Savannah Mae

Time to get my bum into gear and start blogging again. No promises, but I’ll do my best to keep it up. Our most recent adventure was to buy a puppy and take on the hefty task of trying to raise and train her. I spent the last 9 months baby-sitting my nephews – with that in mind, I feel like I have my own two year old. Sometimes she’s sweet as a button and my heart just melts, but other times…. oh goodness… she can be a pistol! So without further ado, here’s our little lady – Miss Savannah.

7 weeks - the day we got her

8 weeks - with a delicious looking treat in her mouth

9 weeks - "Mom, isn't this how everyone sleeps?

10 weeks- getting ready to play with her favorite toy: a ball on a string

11 weeks - visiting my parent's house for the first time

She's pretty cute, I will admit! She had cute little floppy ears when we first got her, but a week later one ear went up and by the next week both were up. Based on her paws and big ears, we're thinking she might be one good sized German Shepherd. As long as she behaves she can get as big as she wants (if only she'd keep the puppy fur!).

Today she found a cockroach. I'd share the video, but it's kind of gross. She had a blast chasing it around... until it got stuck to her nose. It was pretty funny. It met its demise with a nice loud crunch that nearly had me gagging!

One final picture:
This is how she was sleeping one day last week. How can that possibly be comfortable?