Our Heavenly Father,
We thank you for this earth, our home; for the wide sky and the blessed sun, for the ocean and streams, for the towering hills and the whispering wind, for the trees and green grass.
We thank you for our senses by which we hear the songs of birds, and see the splendor of fields of golden wheat, and taste autumn's fruit, rejoice in the feel of snow, and smell the breath of spring flowers.
Grant us a heart opened wide to all this beauty; and save us from being so blind that we pass unseeing when even the common thorn bush is aflame with your glory.
For each new dawn is filled with infinite possibilities for new beginnings and new discoveries. Life is constantly changing and renewing itself. In this new day of new beginnings with God, all things are possible. We are restored and renewed in a joyous awakening to the wonder that our lives are and, yet, can be.
Amen.
God says in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a companion for him….” This is the only place in the creation story where God says something is “not good”.
Adam was really in an uplifting position – everything was perfect: the world, Adam, Adam’s relationship with God, everything. God put Adam at the top, in charge of all that had been created.
Despite all of this, despite that perfect relationship, God still says that, ”It is not good for man to be alone….”
It is my belief that contrary to the statement “God is everything I will ever need”, a relationship with God in and of itself is NOT enough. God created us with an inbuilt need for companionship, as demonstrated in Genesis, although not necessarily the TYPE of companionship in Genesis.
There was a cruel experiment conducted by the Nazis during the Second World War: The Nazis took several small infants, and from the time they were taken from the womb, each infant’s physical needs were completely cared for. They were denied but a single thing: the babies were denied all human contact.
Every single child died before reaching one year of age!
God created us in such a way that we need other humans, human companionship is essential. As we move through the Bible, God also provides several solutions for companionship – the woman for men (and vice-versa), the family, and the church family. What’s important is this: the first human, the only human who ever had a perfect relationship with God was lonely. He had his every physical need perfectly cared for, he had a perfect relationship with God, in a perfect world, but he was lonely. If nothing else, Adam demonstrates that it’s human design to need other humans, and because this was in our perfect design. It’s perfectly normal to be lonely when we lack companionship.
You have probably found out by now that most of my messages are inspired by personal experience – so how did “companionship” come up?
This is the story:
On Monday I went to work as I always do on Mondays. The phone was ringing “off the hook” – as it always does - and about 10:30 Mrs. Hart called and said that someone had left a dog in a cage on the grass outside her apartment and it was barking and there was a lady standing next to it and could I please go and find out what it was all about. So, I left my desk and went out to investigate. There was indeed a dog in a cage with a lady standing next to it. The lady, Lise, had been to the hospital and on her way back heard the crying barks coming from the cage on “our” lawn so she went to find out what it was all about. Normally there should not be a dog in a cage on the lawn of a senior’s residence.
We took the cage into the office and let the dog out. Inside the cage was a letter addressed to one of the residents, food and toys. Since the resident was away for a couple of days we decided to open the letter to find out who it was from. There was no name – it was simply signed: a friend of the family.
The letter reads like this:
Dear Mrs. -----
I am hoping you can take care of my dog “Teddy”. He is a Shitzu-Poodle. He was born November 10th, 2003. He is healthy, affectionate and playful. I am too ill to take care of him. He has had all of his shots when he was a baby. I hope you can take care of him or maybe one of your grand children would like him. Please do not give him to the SPCA. He is a very gentle creature and he needs a good companion. Thank you,
A friend of the family!
Eventually we found the resident, who knew nothing of the dog, does not know anyone with a small dog like that nor did she recognize the handwriting and could we please find a place for the poor dog.
In the meantime this little “Teddy” was having a “grand ole” time getting attention from everyone coming to the office – not to talk about the staff!!! And questions were flying about what to do and did we know anyone who could take him? To make an already long story short – I ended up adopting “Teddy” with instructions of bringing him to work the next day – “well, you can’t very well leave a small dog like that home alone for a whole day”. He’s been with me to work every day and will be doing that for a long time to come. You cannot imagine what he has done for the residents. There are more smiles and talk around than I have seen since I started to work there last year. People, who normally do not say much, have come to the desk just to talk with “Teddy” and give him a hug. People, who normally do not interact with others, have come to see him and have stayed around getting to talk with some of the other residents.
The Homecare Support Workers come to borrow him to go visit with residents who are alone and depressed and they bring people out of their apartments and downstairs to say hello to “Teddy”. The other day I had a 93-year-old lady crawling around on her knees playing with him.
The first greeting I get when I arrive at work is: “Is “Teddy” with you today and how is he?” – and I get hello in the bypassing – both from the residents and from the staff! Hmmm…..
After this week we have decided that “Teddy” should officially become a “visiting” dog, also called a Therapy Dog.
Dogs are not specifically mentioned in the Bible, but they are also God’s creation just as we are. They are a part of the animal creation, over which God has given man dominion.
Genesis 1:26; And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So man trained the dog to become his companion or “best friend”.
I researched a little about the impact a Therapy Dog has on the person being visited. Because of the society in which we live there are many people – especially elderly people – living alone and far away from their immediate family. The children have grown up and moved away to wherever there was a job to be had. The spouse may not be alive anymore and the person has moved into a home or residence or perhaps a nursing home. The children and grandchildren are busy living their own lives and the visits are infrequent or even nonexistent.
What’s left?
Looking forward to mealtimes? To the doctor’s visit? The nurse from CLSC? ??????
A visiting dog can change this scenario. Or a visiting cat.
Therapy Dogs have been tremendously successful, especially in areas of physical rehabilitation and psychological recovery. For example, the presence of animals in institutional settings is associated with the tendency of older people to smile and talk more, reach out toward people and objects, exhibit more alertness and attention, and experience more symptoms of well being and less depression.
Studies have proven that pet programs are superior in producing psychosocial benefits compared to some other alternative programs like arts and crafts programs, friendly visitor programs, and conventional psychotherapy
.By developing a bond with a dog or a cat, the person may achieve documentable progress toward therapeutic goals and have a very heartwarming and memorable experience. This is true especially for people living in continuing care facilities. After all sometimes it’s nice to have someone to hold and to talk to. Dogs – more so than cats – show their unconditional love. They don’t care about how you look or how well you can express yourself – they just love you. Medical research has determined that contact with dogs can lower blood pressure and fend off heart attacks. Other benefits are decreased feelings of anxiety, stress and isolation.
Will this “Teddy” of mine be able to do all of that? Well, even though he is not trained yet as a Therapy Dog he is already the cause of better interaction, more smiles, more physical contact, more interaction, more exercise and less focus on health and family, which is not present. That’s an awful lot to have accomplished in just a week for someone who is only 7 months old and weighs less than 15 lbs.!
The residents tell me that he is a miraculous gift from God and that I was meant to be his “mom”, so that he can visit with them every day.
With God’s help – and “Teddy’s” cooperation - I will do my very best to live up to their expectations.
I hope you have enjoyed this “dog” story and I promise to keep you up to date on our progress as we train to become a “Visiting Team”.
Let us pray:
Loving God,
there are times in each life
when there is no one.
No one with whom to share
a word,
a laugh,
a sad remembrance,
a gentle touch,
a fond embrace,
a kiss of love.
Bless each one who suffers
from such loneliness.
Enrich life with a friend
or gentle stranger
who will spend a moment
noticing
and loving.
In those times
your love shines through,
the world is reborn,
and Christ is known.
So be it!
Amen.
Anne Jorgensen
June 13, 2004