Splinters, Bruises and Affection

A few years ago my backyard was a lush, grass-filled, fruit bearing, oasis of comfort. Aside from the cracked concrete floors, it was a nice place for me to stand outside and look at the stars (smog permitting). If you look at it now it’s a barren wasteland of gopher holes, weeds and dirt mounds.

What happened?

Miles happened.

He barks at birds, digs up the ground, pees on my mom’s fruit trees, tramples our grass and tears down our fence(s). Our rear fence leads into a small vegetation-filled area that overlooks the drainage channel behind our house. Miles damaged the wood by frequently jumping into it while “bird barking” (as my mom says in Chinese), giving him a much larger backyard.

Instead of all the plans I made today, I spent it in my yard fixing my dilapidated fence.

My neighbor came to me and complained the other day that Miles’ “extended” backyard led him into his backyard because of an opening in his fence. He told me he saw my backyard before it was completely tore up and commented on how nice and pretty it used to look (It really was. We even had a tree that blossomed pink flowers every spring). Now it’s this dirty mess.

Was Miles worth it?

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While fixing the fence it kind of got me thinking. Why would anyone want to put up with creatures that destroy their own home? Wasn’t it better off before they came and made the mess? My neighbor probably thought that it would be the logical decision for us to give up our dog. He’s expensive, stress inducing and he poops everywhere. Seems like there’s no reason to keep him.

Of course Miles is worth it. I love him so much. The friendship I have with my dog is well worth the mess he makes. When I come home he always greets me with a tail wag and a smile. When I let him in the house he just wants to snuggle next to me and have me rub his belly.

"I'm so cute"

He’s a handful to love, but I love him none-the-less.

And just like I love Miles, God loves me. Even though we screwed up our home, God loves us. When we make a mess of his backyard, He loves us. When we dig up his grass and break his fence, He loves us. When we sneak inside the house when no one’s looking and silently steal one of my favorite pairs of socks to chew on, He still loves us.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

But having a relationship is key.

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But if we already knew everything that everybody knows
We would have, nothing to learn, tonight

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