{"id":437,"date":"2015-01-01T17:43:20","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T23:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=437"},"modified":"2015-01-13T18:15:37","modified_gmt":"2015-01-14T00:15:37","slug":"stella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=437","title":{"rendered":"Stella!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.\u201d John 6:39<\/em><\/p>\n

About a year and a half ago, against good judgment, I adopted a black and white Pomeranian out of the – oh so many! – pups who need homes. This I did, despite having sworn \u201cNever another Pom\u201d after beloved but difficult Martha Sue died in 2012. Dixie, as\u00a0the dog\u00a0was called then, had a beautiful face, with perfect little features. Honestly, she\u2019s the prettiest dog I\u2019ve ever seen. Others have commented likewise. Dixie was about nine months old, in foster care, having been rescued from an abominable puppy mill where she likely would have become a breeder. During our first meeting, I tried to hold her. She turned her head away and pushed out of my arms, unable to receive affection. I took her home anyway.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t long before her name became Stella, as in Stella!<\/em>, because she was the most out-of-control dog imaginable. She was eight bounds of destruction, a Tasmanian Devil, a dervish unleashed. Every waking moment she ran, jumped, bit, tore, chewed, urinated, defecated, and more. She jumped onto the kitchen counter. She jumped over a six-foot wide pond from a standstill. She jumped into the pond and fought the waterfall. She stopped only when, exhausted, she fell asleep. But just\u00a0for a little while, then she woke up to begin it all again. Sharp words and spankings did nothing to deter her. Raise\u00a0a hand to swat her and she would come back with all she had. She would have fought me to the death, that was apparent. In the backyard, she paced\u00a0the fence,\u00a0nosing every picket until she found one loose enough to butt open, then she was gone. Good luck catching her.<\/p>\n

For a minute I thought, good riddance. Just let her go. But I couldn\u2019t. Until Stella, I\u2019d never had to fight an urge to beat a dog, to throw an animal against the wall. Needless to say, I was horrified at the anger and frustration she provoked. There was discussion of putting her down because you could be pretty sure this dog would be abused anywhere she went. She would bring it on herself with her craziness.<\/p>\n

After a few weeks, a professional trainer was hired, Michael, who came highly recommended. Rightfully so.\u00a0He was a miracle worker, at least it seemed that way. Actually, he just understood how to communicate with dogs and how to teach others to do the same. Stella improved immediately and dramatically. She still had crazy spells, but they grew shorter\u00a0and there were\u00a0normal times in between. She calmed down and began to seek approval. She began to absorb affection, rather than rejecting it. I truly believe for the first time in her miserable, short life she began to trust.\u00a0Stella’s metamorphosis\u00a0has taken time, consistency\u00a0and patience. She turned two years old recently, and I tell her every day that she is a good dog, at least as Pomeranians go. No, of course, I don\u2019t mention that last part.<\/p>\n

I published a novel in 2002,\u00a0narrated by a young writer who is\u00a0about as unlikeable as Stella was.\u00a0Although the reader never escapes this character\u2019s point of view, I would like to point out that the story isn\u2019t as much about her as it is about a Christian who befriends her. Many years ago while on holiday in New York, I had the idea of a\u00a0woman – a Christian –\u00a0stumbling across an unknown relative by looking up her own last name in the phone book. The concept developed into a story in which that serendipitous meeting became a lifeline to the relative, who happened to be in crisis. The\u00a0Christian reaching out and continuing to reach, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, became the theme of A Lifetime Ago<\/em>. If you read the book and look for that theme, you\u2019ll find it easily.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I think it takes about as much saving grace to hold onto us as it does to bring us into God’s Kingdom\u00a0in the first place. The Lord Jesus said His Father (and ours!) gave us to Him and no one can snatch us from His hand. (John 10:28-30) Do you think Jesus \u201cholding on\u201d really looks like us holding on? I think it very likely does if we are His hands and His feet in the earth, as we so often say and hear. I suspect the process of Him keeping us safe is executed\u00a0when we keep one another safe. We are indeed our brothers\u2019 (and sisters\u2019) keepers. Maybe the Lord brings us particular people whom we are especially suited to tolerate, to befriend, and eventually to love, people for whom we will go the distance.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if the Lord brought a little Pomeranian named Stella to me or not, but here we are. We\u2019re in it together, working out her salvation. Over time, we\u2019ve developed trust and become friends. I love her, and she loves me. Today I can say she is worth all the trouble.<\/p>\n

Saving a life feels pretty good, even if it\u2019s only a puppy dog\u2019s. Who knows? Maybe there\u2019s a sheep or two out there who needs rescuing too.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Melissa Kay Simonds<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.\u201d John 6:39 About a year and a half ago, against … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s8Mo02-stella","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":829,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=829","url_meta":{"origin":437,"position":0},"title":"Love The One You’re With","author":"lsimonds","date":"March 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Tribe. n.\u00a0a group of persons having a common character, occupation, or interest \"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.\" Romans 12:18 ESV I recently enjoyed the company of a three year old for\u00a0a few days\u2014the daughter of good friends. She lives in another town,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2017"","block_context":{"text":"2017","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=64","url_meta":{"origin":437,"position":1},"title":"Play By The Rules","author":"lsimonds","date":"July 1, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cA poor man\u2019s field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away.\u201d Proverbs 13:23 NIV A friend told me about something that happened to her last year. 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