Pet Seminary: Stories of how God used our pets to teach us about Him and His ways.

By Jeff Sutherland

Have you ever confronted a friend struggling with a problem and got the idea that you, too, struggle with a similar problem? Consoled a friend with cancer and found you might soon be handling it yourself? Helped a grieving widow, since you are a widow and know what she is going through? Corrected a child, only to have the Holy Spirit correct you about something similar? Struggled with a particular sin, only to turn around and immediately be able to help a friend with the exact same struggle? Felt led to teach others about an issue because you had worked through it yourself? Scolded a puppy for not minding you and knew instantly that you disobey God in the same way?
This book is for you, my friend. It is not about dogs or me, but about you and your relationship with God. He wants to teach you, mold you, train you. He will use your children, your pets, your family, your friends, your problems, your sin, your sickness, your situations every day to learn and grow. All you have to do is listen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Infinity Books Ltd, Malta
• Release date: Mar 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9789918954100

Book preview

Chapter 1

Bringing Him Home

Decision Making

I found it! my cousin exclaimed over the breakfast table as he read the Sunday paper.

Found what? I asked, not knowing we were looking for anything.

This is just what you need. A puppy, Mark said excitedly. Hurry, call them right now before they are all gone. He grabbed the phone, furiously dialed the number, then handed the receiver to me.

Mark was a carpenter by trade and had graciously been adding some finishing touches to our new home. My wife Jan and I, married a year, had just moved into our first house. We needed many things, but a dog was not one of them.

Hello? Yes, I am calling about the puppies you have listed in the paper. You only have a few left? We’ll be right over.

What am I doing? I thought to myself as Mark and I drove through the outskirts of Atlanta. Jan was in Birmingham visiting her family and I knew I shouldn’t make this kind of decision without consulting her first. Aw shoot, it won’t hurt to look, I told the little voice inside my head that screamed, Don’t do it!

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He came running to us as soon as we got out of the truck.

Two pounds of cuddly fur, puppy fat and big feet.

He’s the only one left…the runt of the litter, the owner said.

We’ll take him, Mark answered quickly.

By that time I was in the grass while the little guy licked my face. I was in love.

On the way home Mark asked the ten million dollar question. What are you going to call him?

Call him? How should I know? An hour ago we were enjoying a leisurely breakfast and now I was a dog owner, an owner whose spouse had no idea about the new member of the family. How was I going to explain this to Jan?

As you will see in the following chapters, God brought this dog into our lives for a special reason. He had some things to teach us that we could not have learned without a pet. God used this animal and several others we have encountered along the way to show us about our relationship with Him.

Questions: Do you have problems making decision? Which is easier for you, the large ones or the small ones? Do you struggle, even agonize, over which products to buy at the market while career choices lie on your desk that you haven’t dealt with? Who do you confer with about these decisions?

Homework: Think of a time in your life when you were faced with a big decision. How did you make the choice? Who influenced you? What role did God play? Did you consult Him at all in the matter? How much control does God have in your everyday affairs? How much control do you give over to Him? If He is in complete control, what difference do your decisions make? How should you include your spouse in decision making? What things should you give others the freedom to decide about you without your input? Try backing up the questions above with a good scriptural defense.

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Scripture: Joshua 24; I Kings 18; Hebrews 3; Hebrews 11;

Romans 12; Ephesians 1; Ephesians 2.

Prayer: God, please show me today more about you, who You really are and what I mean to You. Use the good and bad in my life to make me a stronger Christian for Your glory. Lord, we make decisions every day. Teach us to look to You first for Your direction in our lives.

Chapter 2

What Is in a Name, Oh Bacchus?

Persistence

You have a what? my young bride asked incredulously. "Come and see. Just come out here in the yard and take a

look," I said to her.

Jan followed me out the door, mumbling, We don’t need a dog; we can’t have a dog; what are we going to do with a dog? You’ve already built a pen?

She stopped in front of the crude fence Mark and I had hurriedly put together and looked around for our new addition. Suddenly a white fluff of fur appeared and our six- week-old retriever/shepherd mix ran up to greet his new mom. The look on Jan’s face said everything…she was hooked.

He’s so cute, she cooed, sweeping him up in her arms. What are we going to name him?

I’d thought about it, of course, between worrying about being a newly married and already divorced man with a puppy, but had not come up with anything yet. It had to be a special name, one that matched his personality. We would just have to wait and see. We would not have to wait long.

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At four a.m. our answer came, Ooooooooooowwwwww hhhhhhhhhhh!

Your son wants you, my sleepy wife said as she nudged me and rolled over.

He has to learn to stay outside alone, I told myself.

Half an hour and much whining later, I could stand it no longer. The moment I turned on the light in the kitchen the howling intensified. The neighbors are going to love this, I thought as I went to rescue the lonely little guy.

Leaving for work very early that day, I left a note for Jan on the kitchen table. Puppy in garage, been fed.

Upon my return home I found his bowl full of food. He had nibbled on a few shoes, a new pair of Swiss made professional pruners, my leather gloves, almost everything but his puppy chow. Puzzled, I wondered aloud to Jan as to why he hadn’t eaten his food.

Oh, I came home from work at lunch and we shared a sandwich, she said nonchalantly.

How sweet, I thought, then realized her actions had probably been a big mistake.

As soon as we closed the door to the garage it started. Ooooooowwwwwwhhhhhh!

I went back into the garage, patted him on his pointed little head and told him politely to be quiet. The minute I closed the door it started again. Ooooooowwwwwhhhhhh!

I went back into the garage and scolded him more severely. When I went back inside…Oooooowwwwwhhhhhhh! He was whining, constantly whining.

I sat down on the sofa and turned up the volume on the TV to drown out the noise. Then it came to me. We’re calling him Bacchus, I announced. Jan looked at me as if I had just landed on earth from another planet, but I was used to those looks and went on to explain my reasoning. Bacchus was the Roman god of wine and this dog whines all the time.

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We laughed together and knew there was no doubt, Bacchus was his name.

Ooooowwwwwhhhhhh, came a cry from the garage, making the vote unanimous.

Questions: Did you give up after the first attempt at golf when you didn’t make par? Is bowling a perfect 300 what you expect from your first time out? Would you consider entering the Tour de France after just learning to ride a bicycle? Is your prayer life that way? Do you ask God something, expecting the answer immediately, then quit asking?

Homework: God taught me a lot that day we named Bacchus. If I keep on praying, keep on knocking, keep on asking (whining), He will answer. Persistence is needed. Why? Because He desires that relationship, that constant communication, with us.

Patience, persistence and discipline should be your goal in prayer and study, just as it should be in marriage, work and play. What in your life is not working? Have you prayed about it? How often? How long? At what point should you give up?

We are not to look at God as our heavenly Santa Clause but He does want to hear from us. He wants to teach us persistence, patience and discipline. He is listening, but remember, sometimes the answer is no.

Have you put feet to your prayers? What are you doing about your situation? In counseling, the most common answer to the question what are you doing about the problem is I prayed. Okay, well, now what? Whatever the problem is, do you see it as something God can change but won’t? Bad God! Or is the problem really a sin you refuse to give up?

Keep a journal for a month on your prayer life. Write out

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what you are praying for and why. Then record how God answers your prayers. It will change your life.

Scripture: Matthew 5-7; Psalm 119; Deuteronomy 8; James

1-5; Psalm 32;