Continuing The Journey

By: Contributor Last Updated: September 21, 2010

Written by Father Michael

Sam came to visit me this summer. The day I met Sam, we became fast friends. Sam did not have his own bed at that time and when he wanted his own space he made the guest bedroom his home. I was visiting his house and used this room. The door was ajar and Sam came in and sat along aside the bed. He just sat there and stared at me. I signaled to Sam to lie down along side of the bed which he did for a few minutes until he was up in my face again. After an hour I finally tapped the foot of the bed and Sam jumped up and lay across my feet the rest of the night. The next day I was on a mission to get Sam his own bed. He has been my buddy ever since.

On Sam’s visit to my house we decided to go out for dinner. Sam would not be welcomed in the restaurant so we put Sam in my bedroom. This was fine and he behaved well until it was time for Sam to walk down the stairs.

Sam is eleven years old and he gets stubborn on occasion. This day he decided he would not walk down the stairs. He squatted, ran behind bars, just sat down in defiance. The only solution was to wrap him in a blanket and carry him down. It was a quite an ordeal. Sam knows how to manipulate us.

I have never known a dog so headstrong. Sam does not like Lake Michigan. He will not set his toe into the water. He runs into ponds and small lakes but there is something about Lake Michigan. When we carry him into the water he rolls around in the sand. We can carried him into a kayak and he laid still until we beached the boat and he jumped out.

Sam is very much loved and he knows it. He gets away with murder. The relationship is very much like our relationship with God. When we come before God with those sad eyes, or that pleading stare, God just melts.

Last week we read the Gospel of Luke with three parables about the shepherd who had a hundred sheep but lost one lamb then he left all to search for the one lost sheep. The second story was the woman who lost a coin and then celebrated when she found it. The final story of the prodigal son and his recalcitrant brother was presented showing the great love the father had for both.

God is a soft touch, but are we as faithful as Sam? Or are we just stubborn like Sam? God loves us anyway and asks us to love as He loves us. Try it. God might get you a new bed in Heaven,