Many of you may not know this but my wife and I are dog lovers. I don't mean that we just like pets, I mean we really love dogs. We have seven. Yes, you heard me, SEVEN. We have one Rottweiller, five labradors and one Sharpei. I have learned so much about these dogs and they have even taught me about life and how to deal with different type of people. Don't take me wrong, I am not calling people dogs, but like dogs, people are different and they react to different situations differently.
Lets start with Max. He is beautiful black Male Lab who is the BOSS. He keeps to his own but every one of the dogs respect him. During the day, he spends his time out in the yard walking around letting the others know that they better behave. Here is where everything changes. When their is fireworks or thunder, Max goes into a panic attack. He gets very nervous and even though he does not cry, he starts running around trying to find a place to hide. The other dogs just look at him like "What is the world is wrong with him?" He is the only one that is afraid of fireworks on thunder. At night, he comes in the house and he will not sleep unless he is in bed with us. If we don't turn the air conditioner on, he will just stare at it until we turn it on. He lays his head down and in three seconds, he is snoring.
Gus is a yellow male Lab. We thank that he may be a little mixed with hound but he is an incredible loving dog. He loves Olga. my wife, more than anything in this world. We have finally figured out that he does not think that he is a Dog. He will not have anything to do with the other dogs and even though we let him out to play, he just goes out and uses the bathroom and then he is back in the house wherever Olga is at. At night, he sleeps with us and he even has nightmares. He will start shaking and crying while he is asleep. He eats alone. He will not eat when the other dogs are around. He is a loner and as long as Olga is around he is happy.
Jolly is a female Rottweiller. She is a beautiful dog and she is so loving that she when she wants to give you a kiss, she will actually rap her paws around your neck and pull your face toward her. She cares nothing about being in the house. She loves the outdoors and that is where she sleeps. She plays with all the dogs and sometimes a little rough but they all love her especially the males.
Yellow, Browny, and Smokey are beautiful young labs. They are all about six months old and my favorite is yellow. She loves me more than you can imagine. Where ever I am, she is there with me. I can be working on the computer and she will lay their by my side for hours until I get up. If I go to bed, she jumps in the bed and lays beside me. She is faithful and loving. Browny and Smokey are playful. They have so much energy that they can run all day long and not get tired.
Now lets get to Juliette. She is so ugly that she is beautiful. I know that sounds strange but she is totally different than all the other dogs. All the other dogs don't really like to play with her much but let me tell you that when she wants to play, they are going to play whether they like it or not. She will go after them and follow them around until they pay attention to her. Being a Sharpei means that you are a guardian. You are small in size but you feel like you are eight foot tall inside. You don't look down at yourself and you no matter what happens, you will be in the middle of it. Sometimes Juliette will want a kiss but instead of a kiss, she will grab your lip and almost bite it off. She does not mean harm but that is just her way of showing affection.
All of our dogs have different personalities and they have to be treated differently. Just because they are different does not mean that one is better than the other. They all have their good points and their bad. Because we love them, we over look their bad and we focus on their good. We show them love and they show us love back. We don't wait for them to show us love first.
How many people do you know in your life. Just think about how many different people with different personalities you know in your work, your church, or even in your family. Sometimes we seem to notice the bad in them and they seems to over shadow their good side. In the past, I have known people that just rubbed with the wrong way but when I got to know them, they turned out to be wonderful people. I know that their are people out there that is just unbearable to be around but the question is "Does that make them a bad person?"
I thank God for many things in my life but their is one specific thing that I am truly appreciative for. I just don't judge people anymore. That does not mean that everyone is my friend but I just believe that if anyone is going to be judged, it is going to be God that does the judging. We all know this because the Bible tells us but in real life, it is hard to not judge others. If I were to beat one of my dogs because of his flaws, he may not show much love toward me but if I can learn to live with them even though they have flaws and correct them in the right way, the love they show they can show is incredible.
I know that this may sound funny but my dogs make me feel special, probably because I make them feel special. We as human beings can be the same way. Try it out. Pick five people and start doing special things for them. Start showing then extra attention. Call them on the phone and just listen to their problems without judging. Make them see that you care about them and every once in a while, do something extra special for them.
Do this and let me know the results. You will be surprised the impact you will have in their life. How will you know? Because they will start doing the same for you. Their is a scientific equation that says "Every action has a reaction" and this is true in our relationships with our loved ones and even with the ones that we have not learned to love yet.
Just love one another and be happy. Easier said than done, you say? Not if try and with Jesus living in our hearts, we can do it!!!
Philip
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