Ray's Ramblins
Happy Wednesday to everybody!! I hope you are staying safe and well.
The following is a continuance of last week's article about my sister's dogs, Sudie and Ruthie, and their saga of moving.
After I wrote the article, I shared it with my sister. She laughed because she updated poor Sudie's and Ruthie's situation. Last Wednesday my sister Katy, my brother-in-law Kevin, and my niece Anna had their first chance to sit out on their back porch with the dogs to enjoy the evening. The dogs, to their extreme displeasure, were on their leashes.
As expected the two hawks gathered on the dead tree in the backyard to announce their presence. Then my niece looked up and saw another hawk flying around. It too landed on a branch of the tree. Within a few minutes more hawks started circling around and took their spot on the tree. Katy sent me the picture. By the time this event was done about 12 hawks were resting comfortably on several branches. It was quite a sight. Though it is a perfect place for the birds to be able to see several yards and the nearby lake, it is very obvious those hawks were well aware what a wonderful meal Sudie and Ruthie would be. Katy said it looked like they were having a discussion on how many of them it would take to sweep down and take off each dog. The dead tree is scheduled to be cut down, but will it get rid of the the hawks? We seriously doubt it. Meanwhile, Sudie and Ruthie are oblivious to their situation.
There are times in our lives when we feel the "hawks of life" are circling around us and waiting for their chance to sweep down upon us. Life just gets overwhelming at times. Those "hawks" can be providing a quality life for ourselves and/or our household, tough financial decisions, the piling up of bills, health and medical decisions, being sure the kids have enough to do during this pandemic, social isolation and loneliness, relationship issues, the air conditioner breaking down at the same time we need new tires, and a whole list of circumstances. I would dare say that during these past few months we have all seen the hawks circling around us from time to time. We can "cut down the tree”, but that won't solve the issue. The "hawks" don't leave.
Now in terms of Murray Bowen's Family Emotional Systems Theory, of which I take classes for, we talk about creating a healthy mindset. The theory is based upon each of us self-defining ourselves within the circumstances around us. We have to first claim who we are and define how we will respond (not react) within tough situations. We should never react or respond to what others expect out of us. We have to take that responsibility ourselves. Secondly, we have to be a non-anxious presence. If we are anxious we will make hasty decisions, look for scapegoats, blame others, and lash out at people. It would be like Katy and Kevin moving to another house, getting rid of their pets, or suing the former home owners for leaving the tree just because there are hawks who want to eat their dogs. We have all been guilty of acting hastily and hurting others out of our own anxiety.
We have to turn to our faith and remember who we are as God's children and Jesus Christ's disciples. We have to cling to all of those sacred scriptures that promise us God's loving presence. I can quote them all day, but you know what they are. Are you making enough time to pray; to read and study the Holy Scriptures; to worship through either our services, someone else’s (Charles Stanley for example- not a bad guy) on television, or just make some quite space to be in God's presence? We all have to decide for ourselves if we will trust God's eternal love.
Katy and Kevin will get rid of that tree when the person can finally get out to them. Ruthie's and Sudie's trust in their owners will help them adapt to their new life, though it will be one with leashes and less freedom. That's just a part of dogs' instincts and nature. They will always be the queens of the universe who are loved and spoiled rotten. We can do the same if we have that kind of blind trust and faith. As Christians we have to let our instincts take over as well. We will always be loved and spoiled by God.
