Hope Springs Eternal

"Hope springs eternal." I've heard this phrase for most of my life, but it wasn't until I encountered it at home with my dog the other day that I actually realized the true meaning behind it. We've got this little dog, her name is Midge and she is a Corgi / Yorkie mix. She actually belongs to my daughter and sleeps in her room, but I love her more than I ever thought I would.

Midge loves to play fetch, and when I mean she loves to play fetch, I mean she really loves it. She will chase after anything you throw, and she's quick to run after it and bring it back to you so that you can throw it again. (She's getting better at actually bringing it back to me, I used to have to get up and go get the object, now she lays it at my feet.) And even if I don't want to play fetch, she will bring things and lay them at my feet anyway, and begin the ritual of nudging my foot, or blowing air out of her nose in an attempt to get my attention. It's actually part of the game, and I thoroughly enjoy watching her try to get me to play.

We are still working on getting her outside to use the restroom instead of under my daughter's bed (Midge's preferred place to go do her business.) and when we go to take her outside, we will open the front door and say, "Come on Midge, let's go outside and go to the bathroom." (And yes, she is smart enough to understand what we are saying.) The funny thing is that Midge will not go outside if you just stand there and hold the door open for her, she will actually wait until we step out on the front porch too.

What I find really interesting, and this is where the phrase "Hope springs eternal" comes into play, is the fact that once we've stepped out onto the porch, Midge runs through the doorway fully expecting to go and play every time, even though we turn and go right back into the house. She fully believes that we are going to go with her and play her game.

This is where I want to be in my life. Where I fully expect and have hope that what I want to have happen, will happen each and every time regardless of whether or not it actually does. As humans I think that we have a tendency to give up too easily. If we don't see what we desire happen quickly, then we think it won't happen at all. We throw in the towel so fast, and I believe that often we quit right before seeing the very thing that we are desiring. I know that this has happened in my life way too many times.

I don't know if dogs can actually think, or have the capacity to know what's really going on around them, but I know this one thing, my little dog has me beat in the area of expectation and hope, even though probably 90 percent of the time it doesn't come to pass for her. I would have never thought I'd be looking to a dog to help me grow as a person, but I hope that I can grow in and have hope like she does.

Well there's that folks, get 'em up, let's go whip something for the Kingdom of God today!