I have a new love in my life and don’t know how to break the news to my wife … except she already knows and I am definitely in the dog house. But I love her more than ever!
Bosco, our beagle, has finally surrendered his aloofness and apprehension in my presence and accepted me into his inner sanctum. It is what Shakespeare referred to as a sea change. Allow me to share what turned the tide or broke the ice dam. Roxanne engineered a retirement party for one of her favorite people who has been helpful to her with township matters. She had the owner of our favorite hockey bar, who caters special events, provide food for the party. Hamburgers were part of the menu and it was set up as a buffet line. I told him he didn’t need to stay, as it was twenty miles south of town, and offered to bring back all his pans and supplies to his establishment that night. There were a few hamburgers left which I threw in a plastic bag and we took home as treats for Bosco.
Rox and I were exhausted and sat down to watch TV. I brought some leftover hamburger pieces in a cereal bowl to the couch, for Bosco to have a snack. For the first time ever he actually came and sat next to me, which I will admit, made Rox a little jealous as he is her dog and loves to snuggle with her. Even when the food was gone, he sat and licked my hands and then fell asleep next to me. While I found that amusing, Rox struggled with seeing her little guy grow up. Since then, when watching TV, Bosco will often come and sit next to me, in case there are burgers bits to be had. I like to think he finally loves me, but know it is just a beagle being conditioned once by his sense of smell. So, as the proverb goes, patience is indeed a virtue. (For a beagle, hamburgers are a good help with patience.)
So often life is like that! It doesn’t take much for a sea change in relationships, and often it is not something planned but a surprise that makes things new. Patience and prayer can be like hamburgers in such cases, with patience being a necessity. It is kind of like the gift of faith. When we surround ourselves in that aroma, God can work through what we can’t and brings to bear what is beyond our efforts to control. If I had only known to try burgers for Bosco, it could have happened sooner. More importantly, the tide has turned. Patience is rewarded more often than we might imagine and has more to do with giving up the need to control and simply let things play out, as they usually will. Patience is integral to faith and allows miracles we never could have expected