Ellie’s Job and My Job

Experts tell us that dogs need a “job” to do.  Now, that doesn’t mean that Ellie needs to begin clocking in at the hospital. As sweet as she is, I doubt she would make a very good Labor & Delivery nurse.

There are jobs that are “professional roles” for dogs, such as service animals, Police dogs, and search-and-rescue dogs.  There are dogs that participate in sporting activities, such as agility trials, and “nose” work (beagles would be very well-suited for this type of work).  However, most of our pet dogs also need jobs to do.

So why does Ellie need a job?  Primarily, to give her days fulfillment, prevent boredom, provide mental stimulation, and foster a deeper bond with her humans.

Now, I would never expect Ellie to vacuum the floor (though she will eat any edible items she finds) or wash dishes (she does have a particularly long tongue, which could help with that job!).  However, I can ask her to put her toys in the designated basket for them.  I can ask her to play tug of war with me. (This usually involves a “chase” through the house first and ends with me throwing the toy across the room, so it is a good “job” and good exercise for us both.) I can ask her to sit on command and expect her to do so.  I try to set up a series of jumps for her in the house once a week and take her through the course, using lots of her favorite treats as rewards.  As a beagle, she is a natural jumper, and it is so fun to watch her sail over the jumps with ease.  She was particularly skilled at finding a special turtle in the bushes. Jobs give dogs a purpose and more of a sense of “belonging to the pack”.

But Ellie isn't the only one who needs a job; we do, too!  Having retired nine months ago, I find that a strange sentence to write. 

What I mean, though, is that we need jobs to do in God’s economy.  There are things he has for us - each one of us - to do that can only be best fulfilled by us.  This doesn’t mean that we all should be preachers, pastors, or song leaders.  It doesn’t mean we have to be a Sunday School teacher or sing in the choir.  The Lord may call us to fill one of those roles, but for most believers, He has something else in mind.  He wants us to “bloom where we are planted” (to quote Saint Francis de Sales, later popularized by Mary Engelbreit).  That is, to be living testimonies of Him in whatever garden He has placed us.

Perhaps we can’t preach, but we could visit nursing homes and read books to the residents there.  If we love to sing, we could do that as well.  If we love to cook, we could bake something special for someone we know who would be encouraged by it.  Sometimes our “job” may just be giving a sincere smile to someone who looks like they need it.

We also have one “job” we are all called to do everywhere, at all times — that is to pray.  We can pray for people as we encounter them, such as the cashier at the grocery store or a person we pass on the sidewalk while walking our dog. The person in front of us, or behind us, in traffic.  Everyone we encounter is a person who needs prayer.  Everyone!  A chance interaction with a young couple at the Home Improvement store may lead to a lifetime of praying for that family.

If we had any glimpse of the wonderful things which could be accomplished through the simplest and shortest of prayers, we would try our very best to fulfill the Apostle Paul’s admonition to “Pray without ceasing.”

Whatever the job is the Lord leads us to do, let us do it heartily and faithfully unto the Lord, and one day we will surely hear these words…

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:

enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”  

Matthew 25:21