Lessons from an aggressive dog

During our year of ministry in a rural community, one of the families we got to know quite well kept a dog tied up in their yard. The dog was there purely for security reasons (he wasn't named Tiger for nothing!) and lived his entire life on the end of a 10m rope with minimal contact with the family.

We had no pets and being starved for canine friendship, I would go and talk to him on our weekly visits to the home. Initially Tiger was incredibly aggressive and I would stand well out of reach as he snarled and snapped at me, and just speak softly. Over time he softened visibly, until the memorable day when he let me scratch his head. From that point on, every time we came to the house, Tiger would strain excitedly at his lead and drool spectacularly as I rubbbed his head. He loved the contact and seemed a different dog altogether to me.

This has been a really helpful picture for me to bear in mind when dealing with difficult people. Some people snarl and snap through no fault of their own - they have been on the end of a chain all their lives and have not been spoken to softly. Tiger's transformation is also a picture of the dramatic change that can take place in the lives of wounded people when we are willing to risk loving someone who has been written off.

Dad

It's nine years today since Dad died very suddenly from a stroke. We still miss him so much.

As I've been thinking about him I've been struck by the value of the African and Jewish attitude towards ancestors (not that we'll be a slaughtering a goat today - though if we did, the steaks would need to be very rare...). Because despite his absence, he remains actively present. In the first weeks and months after his death, he was never out of my thoughts; it's different now, but he continues to influence the way I see the world, what makes me laugh, how I tackle problems. Although I could have used his physical presence the other day when replacing some broken floor tiles...

He never met my wife or son, but he certainly has been an influencing presence in their lives too. Western Christians particularly are very twitchy about the role of ancestors in Africa, but I can relate to the ongoing presence of this ancestor of mine. And I understand why devout Jews would consistently root themselves in their significant ancestors. Even God identifies himself as 'the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob'.

I do miss him, but am grateful this morning for his presence. I don't think I could manage a Texan, but a Castle tonight would be nice.