Our neighbors have dogs. Five dogs. Count 'em....two pitbulls, two mini-dachsunds, and a shi-tsu. Their numbers have increased gradually over the past couple of years and so has the noise. We can't step out of the back door without being barked at. In fact, I can't even go into my kitchen without being barked at.
One of the pitbulls has recently decided that our yard is much nicer than his and has figured out how to get over the fence (and under it) in order to visit regularly. Last weekend he came over twice...while my husband was mowing the lawn. The encounters were not pleasant. The first one sent Terry over the fence at the other end of the yard in order to avoid being bitten. The second caught him in a position where he couldn't run, and he spent several minutes doing donuts with the lawn mower in order to keep it between himself and the dog until he could finally get away.
What does any of this have to do with the gospel?
We tend to be people who normally keep to ourselves and don't get very well acquainted with others around us. Not exactly what the Lord had in mind when he gave us this house. This past weekend we prayed together for our neighbor before Terry went to speak to him about his dogs. I only wish we had done this sooner. This man unloaded his burdens on my husband, and they were many. He told Terry that other neighbors had complained about the dogs, but none had come directly to him....this was the perfect opening for Terry to tell him that we are Christians and this is the way Christians deal with things. Their conversation was lengthy and cordial, and he has already gone to great lengths to keep the dogs from exploding every time we open the back door. More important than that, communications are now open between us, and we are praying for opportunities to witness to this man and his family and share Christ with them.
After all this, I have to thank the Lord for the dogs.....I think He used them to wake us up to the needs of our neighbor. I'm just thankful we didn't have to get bitten before we finally got the message.
Posted by lsegolf at August 13, 2004 03:39 PMamen.
Glad you have your blog now. I look forward to all the wonderful posts we'll see!
Posted by: micah at August 13, 2004 04:56 PMThat's truly amazing. I hope that God will mightily use your family to reach your neigbors.
Posted by: tim f at August 13, 2004 06:12 PMWelcome to the web!!! We will be praying for your neighbors salvation.
Looking forward to many blogs! C YA
It's amazing how practical the gospel is. My first response while reading your story involved a baseball bat. And baseball bats used that way rarely open up avenues of communication. I'm glad the Lord gave that opportunity.
Posted by: apple at August 20, 2004 03:22 PMThank you for that. Welcome to blogging.
Posted by: micahellis at August 22, 2004 12:44 PMMy response, like Apple's, would have involved a large bludgeoning device. But that simple mundane incident was a gospel-sharing opportunity. One doesn't have to knock on the door of a complete stranger who equates him with JWs or Mormons or pseudo-Christian panhandlers and try to get him to talk about eternity; one justs spread the light as the opportunities allow. I love it.
Posted by: sligh at August 24, 2004 11:32 PMtrue, sligh, very true; i have a hard time iwth the idea of door to door visitation (even though i know it's been used of the Lord and often done in pure motives and sheer bravery); my personal philosophy is that if ANYONE comes a-knockin' at my door and tries to "sell" me something, i'm immediately irritated and skeptical, so why would i want to be a perpetrator (albeit a well-meaning one, as most true believers who participate in this kind of outreach are)? but you--and you, eMom--have pointed out that there are often better opportunities right under our noses, which God has designed to allow us to form relationships that show in daily living that we serve a living, loving God. That kind of testimony "sells" itself. Thanks for the reminder, guys!
Posted by: jen d at August 31, 2004 09:24 AMPlease note: Comments will not appear immediately. Your comment will appear upon approval by the blog's editor. We had to implement this to decrease the amount of spam that our site receives. Please forgive the inconvenience. We are looking into other, friendlier options.