New Arrivals

by Dale Harcombe | More from this Blogger

07 Dec 2007 06:55 AM

A new arrival has come to live at our house - a bundle of cuteness wrapped up in fur. And interesting the way it came about. For months I have wanted another dog but with the move and lots of things happening that required frequent visits to Sydney it was impractical. Then today, I decided to take the local newspaper with me in the car, which I never normally do. I saw an ad in the paper from someone selling Maltese Terrier cross Shih Tzu puppies. Every other time, I've mentioned the prospect of another dog my husband has been negative about the idea. Today, when I read the ad out, my husband suggested I give them a ring.

I left a message on the answering machine and my mobile (what you in America call a cell phone) number. A couple of hours later while we were grocery shopping in Nowra, the phone rang. It was the woman about the puppies. She gave me the address which was in Berry. Since we were then only 14 kilometers away, we headed to Berry as soon as we had the shopping stowed in the car. We were greeted at the door by two of the most gorgeous puppies. Decision time but how to choose? I'd have liked to bring them both home with me but knew we couldn't do that. One was grey and black. The other ginger with a little grey. We chose the second one.

After bringing her home we wondered how our other 12 year old dog would react and made sure he felt he was not being replaced by giving him lots of pats and attention before we brought the puppy out. She is so tiny she could fit underneath his stomach without any trouble. He in turn could swallow her in a gulp.

But our older dog has been so lovely and gentle towards this little pup, even though I suspect deep down he's not sure what to make of her. And of course she had the cheek to bark at him!

Sometimes I suspect when new Christians come into the church, we can treat them a bit the way our older dog greeted this pup. We're not sure what to make of them at first. Perhaps because they don't dress the way we do, or speak the way do. But like our older dog we need to be patient and gentle and look after them.

I remember a scripture teacher I had at school. Her speech was, shall we say, colorful especially when she got excited. Then an inappropriate word often popped out. And yet she impressed me because, even though to some people's eyes she was a bit rough around the edges, she was obviously committed to serving God and telling others of Him while trying to change those areas of life that until she became a Christian had never been a problem. That included her manner of speaking.

Isn't it good that God doesn't need us to be perfect before we come to Him? We can come to Him exactly as are. Then when we are His and the time is right, He goes to work on those areas that need changing. All we have to be is willing to allow Him to change us - to change our thought patterns, our speech patterns and our lifestyle choices. Are you willing to let Him change those areas of your life that are not pleasing to Him? After all, He calls us to be holy. He is holy and we are to be like Him in our behavior, I Peter 1:15

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Learn more about Dale Harcombe

Dale has a passion for books and writing. She writes in various forms, from articles to poetry to fiction for children and adults.

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