Scottie Wisdom & Faith: Scottie life

We made special Christmas boxes for the Scotties to open on Christmas morning. Each box was wrapped in holiday paper and filled with some of the dogs’ favorite treats.

It took them more than 20 minutes to reach the treats. Scotties are tenacious and never give up. For nearly half an hour the pack was fully alive. They pushed, pulled, bit, dug, tore, jumped on, and danced around their prey. We laughed at their antics more than we ever had before. It was the best morning we had witnessed in more than 40 years of Scottie Christmas games.

The thrill of the work made all three Scotties truly alive. They were alive in every sense. They were free and unafraid to grapple with the challenge, using every skill they had. Joy was at the center of the work and a reward met them at the end.

Little Ernie was out of his mind, and he danced and danced with pure joy.

Jesus said that he had come that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly. What we watched was an excellent example of being alive at the highest level. This is life at its best for a Scottie, and we can have a full life when we are open to all the good that life has to offer.

The Bible tells us that life is the greatest blessing we can receive from God on this earth. “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23.

Jesus told us that those who followed him would have the light of life. What is this life we are being told about?

When we are truly alive we are filled with God’s peace and joy. We are truly alive when we are unafraid. Fear is the great dampening cloud that causes us to limit our verve and pursuit of new and glorious experiences. (I’m not talking about doing drugs or things that are injurious to others here.)

I’ve been crafting and painting my entire life. I’ve done everything from wood carving to airbrushing. I’ve also been amazed at the number of intelligent people who have said to me, “aren’t you afraid to try that?”.

Why be afraid? What is the worst thing that can happen? If the project doesn’t work out, it can be tossed out and started again, and this is true of most new things you may want to try, even new challenges at work.

What holds us back so much and how can faith in God change that?

Simply put, TRUST in God, true deep faith that our Creator is with us, and will help us when we need help, sets us free of fear. Knowing that death on this earth is only a transition to another world, dimension, or something else, means that we are free from limitation. This is not an endorsement for stepping in front of a car to see if we can stop it. This is support for trying new things, exploring new ideas, taking new challenges, and making the most of life’s waiting opportunities.

We have all experienced some times of joy and freedom from fear, but the promise is that we can have much more than that.

This column would suggest that if your life is not filled with joy, and if you find yourself living with a lot of fear—fear of failure, fear that your world is going to end, fear that you will never be successful, for example—begin your new quest with a deep dive into the spiritual teachings of the Man from Nazareth.

Why did so many people follow Jesus? Because he taught them how to vanquish fear. When Jesus was alive, the world was ruled by the Romans. If you were not a Roman citizen, it was a tough life. People needed and wanted to lift the veil of fear, and Jesus gave them a way to do that.

It begins with love. Once your heart is filled with love, the love of God, the love of all people—not just your friends and those you agree with—and the love of the beauty of God’s earth, you begin to see everything in a new way. As your love of God grows, your trust in the goodness of all God’s creation grows, and your fear begins to melt away.

When you are sending good vibrations out, good vibrations come back to you. People you never knew before become your friends and help you discover the beauty in life. Life gets better each day, and you begin to find more and more joy. You blossom and begin to be truly alive.

On Christmas morning the Scotties discovered a new game. They spent the rest of the day trying to get me to give them more boxes. That made me look for more opportunities to offer them games where they had to work for their treat. We now have bags with treats inside that they can rip apart. They love new challenges.

We need challenges. We all want to be alive. Faith is a great beginning. It’s a new year, dive into life and do something that you have never done before. What have you got to lose?

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God.

I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

— Isaiah 41:10