THE DOGS OF THE DEAD-END GANG [T, 5-26-20]

“DAILY” DEVOTIONAL-Watching for the Spirit

THE DOGS OF THE DEAD-END GANG   [T, 5-26-20] 

I know the names of five dogs in our neighborhood—Jack, Angie, Mobley, Betty Jean, and Eddie. It’s the anonymous dogs that get me caught in dead ends. I know where the named dogs come from and where they are going. The routes of the anonymous dogs are unpredictable.

As I walk, I try to take routes that are without dogs. I like the dogs, but in our neighborhood, a dog is always accompanied by a person, and in this pandemic time, it’s important to avoid people. It’s not too bad if there are walks on both sides of the street. If I see someone coming, I just cross the street. We wave, and maybe even say “Hello,” but there are 30 feet between us. Good enough.

But if I have taken one of the side streets, the ones that have no walks, that have dead ends, it’s easy now to get trapped. The only way out brings me too close to the other person. The other day a man was walking THREE anonymous dogs at once. They stopped at the junction of dead-end Regency and main Westminster, because all three dogs had to poop. They were not efficient, although polite. Each one waited to do their business until the one ahead of them had done theirs. And the man had to get out a plastic bag each time to pick it up. It took forever. I couldn’t get out until all the poop was picked up.

My brain is much like that these days, prone to go down dead-end streets and then get stuck while the poop process goes on. I’m especially bad about remembering some wrong that is now totally irrelevant, because I’m the only person left alive who even remembers it, and rehearsing all the evils of all the other people in that episode. How useless; I can’t even go yell at them. It’s totally dead end. But in this quarantined time, it’s so easy to go down mental dead ends.

What’s the remedy? The apostle, Paul, said it: Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. [Philippians 4:8, NRSV]

JRMcF