Mustard Seeds and St. Bernards

Most of you know that we have two Saint Bernards in our family – both rescued dogs.

Dinah was rescued from the pound (I know…a real, live Saint Bernard in the pound!).

We brought her home about 1 week after our first Saint Bernard (Tendai) died…after swearing that we would wait at least 6 months – okay – 3 months – okay – one month before we got another dog! It’s just that Tonka (our other living Saint Bernard) was soooo lost after the first dog died.

So, in our home are two giant throw-rugs of dogs!

I’m fairly sure we spend more money feeding the dogs than we do the kids (on the good side – and there are several good sides – at least their shedding hair…the dogs’ not the kids’…gathers in clumps so large it creates hazardous conditions around the house, which force me to vacuum on a fairly regular basis, thus maintaining my image of not being a completely worthless housekeeper!!)!

They are getting older though – for dogs so large.

Tonka – the surviving member of the original twosome, is about 8 ½ or 9 years old (we adopted him from a St. Bernard Rescue thing. His owner was being deployed overseas with the military and couldn’t take Tonka with him). He’s had an ongoing urinary tract infection (now, THAT’S an experience!!!!). Trust me, it is no small puddle that a dog that size creates when he just can’t hold it any longer…Think small to medium sized pond.

The only thing worse than bolting out of bed in the middle of the night at the sound of dog-urine hitting the thankfully hardwood floor, is the surprise of having slept through the deluge, and stepping into it as soon as you get up in the morning!

Tonka recently finished another round of antibiotics. I took him back for his follow-up urinalysis (God love the vet tech who gathered that!), only to receive a voice-mail the next day stating that there was a mix-up in the transfer of his urine sample to the lab!!!! Could I bring him back so they could get another sample (I drive a PRIUS for goodness’sake!)?

Urinalysis re-taken…Infection gone…But his kidneys are not functioning as they should be. He’s getting older…slowing down.

When we told the kids (3 ½ years ago) about the first dog’s death, Lucy literally wailed. Henry wept and walked around aimlessly.

I’m not really sure why I share this…Maybe to be reminded that everybody is dealing with something. You and me and that annoying person you work with…Some relatively small “somethings,” and some pretty big “somethings.” But all of us have something going on. And none of us knows all the stories of the hearts of those around us. And all of us are seeking some control of some aspect of our lives…and these constant pee-puddles (or whatever the equivalent is in your life) force us to realize that any control we may assume we have is really just the illusion of control. So, we need to be gentle with each other.

This upcoming Sunday’s gospel lesson includes the parable of the mustard seed…It was a nuisance plant…a weed…like kudzu, you know (the mustard plant). That it was sewn in a field is a result of its seed being so small and indiscernible mixed in among the “proper” seed. So, no one expected to see the plant growing. The Kingdom of God can be a nuisance sometimes (ala the Mustard plant/weed). Way easier to be cynical and judgmental with others – rather than being gentle and “open.”

I focus, sometimes (more often than I like to admit) only on what I expect to see…I don’t sleep well, and am exhausted…worried that a UTI-infested dog may wake up and need to be rushed outside (that’s what I expect…okay, so it may not be the beautiful field of pure crop that the scripture alludes to – but it is what I expect) and so in my frustration, I miss the grace-lessons that this very frustration offers. Maybe an analogical stretch – I’ll grant you that – but even in this frustration, I am being prepared to have patience with others who are also exhausted for whatever reason. I am being prepared to care for those who are aging and losing control of their bodies. I am being prepared to raise children who know love and inevitable loss and care and gentleness.

Mustard seeds and dog-pee…The presence of the Kingdom can be inconvenient…The lessons of grace – even when others have to help us discern those lessons – remind us that God grows in us and brings us to places of peace and compassion and love.