From the Rector…
My dogs have a ton of toys. Their toy box cannot contain the plethora of chewy, squeaky, big, little, hard, and soft toys that spill over onto the floor and find their way into every room and corner of the house. They love to play with their toys and can be heard squeaking a toy at all hours of the day and night. But there favorite toy is an empty toilet paper roll.
Petunia checks for empty toilet paper rolls daily. She makes her rounds of the bathrooms in search of an empty roll. She has yet to equate the empty roll with one that has paper on it, but I think she is starting to figure that out. For now, she leaves the toilet paper alone, seeking only empty rolls. It has become a bit of a game with her, when a roll is empty, I will put it on the lid of the bathroom trash can and wait and watch as she discovers it.
When Petunia was younger, she would try to grab the roll and run—almost as if she were trying to be sneaky and doing something she wasn’t supposed too. Unfortunately for her, she would often hit the roll with her nose in her haste and it would fall between the trash can and the wall. The first couple of times this happened, I reached down and got it for her. Then, one day, I decided to see what would happen if I didn’t help her. Sure enough, she came in the bathroom, knocked the empty roll off the can, and then turned to look at me as if saying, “Ok human, pick up the roll for me.” I just looked back at her and told her to get it herself. After a few seconds, she began to sniff behind the trash can and finally, shifted the can out of the way, grabbed the roll, and took off to tear it into little pieces.
Over time, Petunia attempted various approaches to retrieving the empty roll off the can so that it wouldn’t fall in between can and wall. Some of them worked and others didn’t. Lately she has figured out how to knock the roll off the can so that it lands in front of the trash can where she can easily pick it up and take it to the bed to chew it up. I admit, I am impressed with her problem solving skills and tenacity.
Petunia and her problem solving skills are more than a lesson in how smart dogs are, it is a witness to hope and faith. There is not an empty toilet paper roll on the trash can every morning, but Petunia checks every morning anyway. She doesn’t know if or when there will be a toilet paper roll for her to play with, but that doesn’t deter her from looking for one. She believes that eventually a piece of cylindrical cardboard will show up—she doesn’t express disappointment when it isn’t there, but she demonstrates pure delight when she finds one.
God is always around even when we aren’t aware of his presence. If we hold onto our hope and exercise our faith by continuing to look for him, when we do find him, it is pure delight and our joy is made complete. Keep seeking and eventually you will find.
Light and Life,
Candice+