#28
“I will give you treasures of darkness and hidden riches of the Secret Place, that you may know that I, the Lord Who calls you by your name, am the God of Israel.”  Isaiah 45:3

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”  Psalm 150:6

I am going to take a side-trip from the teaching of Ruth today because God has asked me to tell you about Scarlet.

I mentioned in one of my earlier teachings that one of the ways I experience God’s glory is in my German Shepherds.  Now, you must understand that I am not typically an “animal lover”.  It is not that I dislike animals – it is that I have never had the desire to have any pets of my own.  I remember as a little girl finding a stray kitten, bringing her home, naming her Powder Puff, loving that kitten as if it were my child, and being totally devastated when she got ran over by a car.  I had a funeral service for her, cried for days and decided right then I did not want to get attached to an animal ever again.  So how has it come to be that we now have two German Shepherds?

In my job as a Realtor, I come across many different situations with people.  A couple of years ago, one of my Sellers was moving to the city.  She had the most beautiful full-grown male German Shepherd I have ever seen in my life.  She told me that if the new owners of the house wanted him, they could keep him; otherwise, could I find a good home for him?  It was obvious that she loved him very much, and it was upsetting to have to leave him behind.  As I showed the house a few times, I became more and more interested in this dog.

I soon discovered that Ausdruck’s (we call him Aus, pronounced Oz) father was a solid white German Shepherd.  Aus has all the markings of a traditional German Shepherd, but the typically tan markings are silver. I began to think again (uh-oh)… “It is such a shame not to breed him; after all, he is so beautiful and so smart and etc., etc., etc.”  I mentioned to my son that I would really love to breed Aus to a solid white female.  That is all it took for my son to set out with determination to find me one, and I began once again, along with my son this time, to “work on my husband”.  Apparently he did not need much convincing because within a few weeks, he surprised me by telling me we were going to drive to a small town in the Panhandle and pick out a solid white female German Shepherd pup.   

I have never been to a breeder before, so I did not know what to expect when we got there.  We drove up to this little country house, and there were dozens of pens and shelters set up, and more dogs than I have ever seen in one place.  As the breeder took us through the longest of the shelters, there were puppies at all stages of life, from just a few days old to “get me out of here!” He stopped us about half-way through the building, and there were eight balls of white fur with their Mama.  They were the cutest things, but I thought, “Oh no!  How do I dare pick out a dog when they all look the same?  How am I going to know I got the right one that will have a good disposition, train well, get along with Aus, and love my grandbabies?  Oh Lord, please help!”  Within seconds, this one ball of fur made her way toward me.  I picked her up, she looked me right in the eyes and would not look away.

German Shepherds have a desire to please.  They are driven by activity and will quickly find a passion in life:  Aus loves Frisbee and will play forever if someone will just keep throwing the Frisbee; others will easily train as Drug Dogs, Seeing Eye Dogs, Canine Cops, etc. because of their passion for a desire to please. 

One of Scarlet’s passions:  to sit on our feet and watch Aus play Frisbee.   Scarlet’s main passion:   as the sun rises every morning, you will find Scarlet sitting very still, very quietly facing the east.  She watches with new anticipation every single day.  She watches the birds as they take flight from their evening rest, and she watches the squirrels as they run to and fro gathering food for their homes.  She tilts her head as the wind brushes past her.  She raises her face to the sky as the morning dew or rain falls on her.  She listens intently for any new sounds of creation.  She will sit there for hours.  It is a brand new day, and she eagerly awaits and patiently watches as if she has never seen or heard God’s creation before that very moment.  Even Aus cannot distract her from her morning routine.  You see, Scarlet knows how to experience the glory of God.  Glory:  the manifested presence of an invisible reality.    

I did not choose Scarlet’s name.  God did.  He very clearly told me that we were to name her Scarlet White.  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”  Isaiah 1:18a He told me then that He was going to show me something special with this little puppy.

I cried for days…but God said, “Do I not care about even the birds of the air?  What is man that I am mindful of him?  I made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. I made him ruler over the works of My hands; Melissa, I put everything under your feet:  all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the fields, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.  How majestic is My Name in all the earth!”  Psalm 8:4-9  No, we are not “putting her down”.  God can heal our Scarlet – He cares about even the birds of the air.

The enemy likes nothing more than to “put us down”.  He will take us out to keep us from ever experiencing the fullness and the glory of God.  He will give us pain, plague us, give us lesser quality of life than the abundant life Christ died to give us.  “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”  Let EVERYTHING that has breath praise the Lord.  LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE THE LORD!!!  God created Scarlet; she is part of the “everything that has breath”.  She praises Him every morning!  She experiences His goodness every morning!  She looks with anticipation every morning!  She sits ON and at His feet everything morning!  She basks in His glory every morning!  And if He cares for a pup or for a bird that much, oh how much more does He care for us!?

We called the breeder.  He has never had one of his pups develop dysplasia.  So now he has reserved in our name:  Crimson –another female white German Shepherd that we will go pick out in a few weeks.  “Though your sins are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”  Isaiah 1:18b

I do not know why God is choosing to use these dogs in our lives right now.  Remember, I never wanted a pet!  But I do know that I am basking in His presence right this very minute as I watch Aus and Scarlet play together with abandoned love for life.

“Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.  Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil…Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…”  Eccl. 9:7-8, 10

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.  They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’”  Revelation 7:9-10 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True…He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God.  The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean…On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.”  Revelation 19:11-16

Does He not care about even the birds of the air?  Does He not care about even my pup? Just like Scarlet chose me, Jesus chooses us!  And oh, how much more does He care about me and about you!  Just as that breeder marked Scarlet’s white hair with a red pen, Jesus marked us.  He bore the nails, spilt the scarlet and crimson blood so that we may be washed and always clothed in clean fine linen robes whiter than snow.

Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might…and play with abandoned love for life!  Oh God, show me your glory!!!