Rrrauuggraugraugraug raug.... Better than the roosters crow, the next door neighbor's dog sounds the wake up call. Unfortunately this alarm doesn't have a snooze button. I cannot count the numerous times I have laid in my bed thinking up ways to murder the dog that lives under my second story bedroom window. Crossbow with flaming arrows, poisoned meat, a half ton of sleeping pills... my bare hands... This isn't just any breed of dog, it has been born with built in loud speakers and a barking switch that doesn't turn off until a full 20 minutes has been reached and can go off at any given moment. Skype conversations have been interrupted because they cannot hear me above the dog. My boss who lives across the street tells me that they can hear this little beast of horror. The time that I went to my next door neighbors house to ask if they would make the dog be quiet because I had a terrible migraine... the kind neighbor-lady gave me a headache pill and sympathized with how annoying the creature was with his endless barking.
Then last week, after nine months of living next to this sleep stealer, I was sitting on my bed reading my bible and off he went.. Raaauug raugraug raugraugraug.. Murderous thoughts once again began to build in my yet-coffee-deprived brain, when through the racket God spoke to me, -Love your neighbor Tabitha.
-WHAT? You have got to be kidding God! I do love my neighbors, look at the work that I am doing with the orphans, kids in the hospital, giving of myself every day! This barking dog is an injustice, it is inconsiderate and just plain rude!
Then even softer, "Tabitha, love your neighbor, this neighbor."
Love cannot pick and choose. I cannot say that I love but only love those who are easy to love. This neighbor and their dog is an allegory for me. I cannot say that I love my neighbor and hate his dog, because really hating his dog means I think things towards my neighbor like "What idiot gets and dog and never trains it", basically very uncharitable and leads to hating my neighbor. It is the same with the people I am around who have annoying traits or are doing things that hurt me. It means not just loving the kids in the orphanage and hospital but going out and giving soup to the fathers who live on the streets in a life of alcohol and drugs.
Just last Thursday evening we were out serving soup when four young girls approached the car with the soup taking the bowls and bread that we offered. I was standing near and started up a conversation with them. We talked about where they lived and what they were up to, just the basics, when one of the little girls leans in to say softly to me "You do know that you are giving soup to theives? Everyone here is a thief." I just smiled slightly as I began to explain to her that we all have bad things in our lives but the beauty of it all is that no one is soo bad that God cannot love them, like a little girl who doesn't always obey her mom or a drug addict throwing his family to the side or even a neighbor with a really annoying dog.
