Beloved and Becoming

I am sitting in front of my computer, watching the sun come up, streaks of golden yellow brightening the skyline. I hear the whines from the basement floating up the stairway and go open the door to let the dogs come up. Phoebe is the oldest. A basset, she became a part of our family many years ago on an Easter Sunday morning. She walked up our driveway and stole our hearts. Alison wanted to keep her because she looked like she was wearing a headband and eyeliner. Her family had moved recently and she had been given to a neighbor. She ran away so much the neighbor was happy to find her a new home. Ezekiel, a.k.a. Zeke, should have been named Bob Barker because he does that all the time. He is an ardent conversationalist and does his best work riding in the mule. His first family did not appreciate his communication skills and he came to live with us. Barney wandered on to the farm one day. Shy and reclusive, scared to death, he hid out in the high barn venturing out only to eat the food we left. Each day we moved the food closer to the house until he was eating at the edge of our yard. He was young still but bore the unmistakable marks of abuse. He looked like a concentration camp survivor. For weeks he circled us, never letting anyone touch him. Men in baseball hats terrified him and the sight of a camera would send him into a barking orbit. The UPS man, beloved by the bassets because he always has doggie treats for them, could not get out of the truck. After a year or so, Barney now knows him and tolerates his occasional visits. He still cannot respond to face forward approaches even with us, but will circle around and slip his muzzle into your hand and wait for a pat. His hurt runs deep and is just now beginning to heal. Amazingly tender and protective of children and women, he can morph into a snarling beast if anyone he loves is threatened. All three dogs are lying on the rug by my chair and it smells comfortingly doggy.
Dogs have been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. Mama and I like to play the game Remember about dogs we have known and loved. Our mailbox had an invisible red S (for Suckers) on it that only strays could see so we have always had strays for pets. There was Tubby, a Spitz mix, who smelled awful but let Gayle and me dress him up. There was Jake the hound who sang along when I practiced the piano. Maggie was a stray from the paper mill where daddy worked. And then there was poor Benji. If you saw Benji from a distance he bore a faint resemblance to the T.V. and movie star dog of the same name. His wiry hair stood up and ran away at all angles. He would smile at you, wag his tail and body, so happy to be noticed. As you got closer, you could see most of his teeth had rotted out and his body odor reminded us of Tubby. Daddy kept saying we can’t keep him but Mama ignored him and fed him. Starving animals are not a part of the proper order of creation for my mama. Benji loved my mother fiercely and Daddy, who loved my mama, too, gave in and gave up. Benji became a part of the family. Mama saw that he had his shots, his teeth fixed and loved that old Velveteen Rabbit of a dog. When Benji saw mama come out the back door, he became a beautiful dog. You didn’t even see his raggedy self. All you saw was his love for mama, transforming him into what mama saw in him, a beloved companion. It took your breath away.
The transforming power of love... I become what my beloved sees. I see the ones I love as they are and as they can be. I love them not because of their "potential" but just because they are. That is the love offered to me through Jesus as I search for God. Jesus’ face, his flesh and blood presence in this world of mine, sees me as I am, loves me as I am, and calls me without harsh judgement to transformation, a resurrection, a new becoming. I can become who God saw I could be when I was born because I am beloved. Beloved and becoming... Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be , but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 May it be so, Lord. Peggy Hester