It is a very sad day at our home. This morning I went up to the dog kennels to collar up our 2 Brittneys so they could take a morning run. They are always so excited to get out and run and play. Our oldest Brittney, General who was almost 14 years old, didn’t get up from where he lay. He raised his head and just looked at me with those beautiful brown Brittney eyes that said, “Mama, I am not feeling so good.”
Greg was home and so we brought General inside and called the vet. When Brian arrived and checked General out, he said that he might have had a stroke since he had definite left sided deficits or perhaps cancer was taking him. Brian felt like whatever it was would not be treatable based on what he saw. Greg and I made the decision to put General down.
I’ve cried a river today because our pets are like family members after having them for 10 years. I had two cats for 16 years. Three years ago I had to have them put down within 5 days of each other. I cried for days.
Now, those of you who are not animal people, please bear with me. There is a POINT to this post.
General and Jake, our other Brittney, were the inspiration for the name of the ministry that God has given me. Read on for the very first issue of The Point that explains why I chose that name.
I promised to tell you in this first email why I chose the name “The Point” for my ministry….and that it what I feel this is…my ministry for this time. The above verse and my choice of electronic stationary may give some of you a clue as to the reason behind the name, but for others, let me explain.
My husband, Greg, has 2 Brittneys, General and Jake. Brittneys belong to a group of dogs known as “pointing dogs”. Greg, General, and Jake are a team when they are out in the field hunting birds. The job of a pointing dog is to use his keen sense of smell to find birds, and literally, point them out to the hunter. The picture that you hopefully see to the left of these words shows 2 dogs, both pointers. The one in front (white and dark brown) has located a bird or birds and is “on point”. His nose points toward the bird, his tail remains stiff and unmoving, and he has lifted his front leg in the characteristic stance of a dog on point. The dog in the back ( white and light tan ) is “backing” the front dog’s point. He might also smell the bird, but was not the first to locate it. His job is to honor the point of the first dog and remain totally still so that the birds will not fly off. The hunter now knows that a bird has been located.
General came to live with us when he was 3 years old. He had been a house dog all his life, never having hunted. Jake came to us from friends as a 9 week old puppy, who obviously had never hunted anything other than his mother. The God-placed instinct in pointing dogs is so awesome. From the time we brought Jake home, when Greg would place a quail wing (from a previous hunt) on the end of a fishing line and dangle it in front of Jake, he would go “on point”. I’m not sure he even knew why he was doing it, but it was so instinctive that he could not do anything else. General and Jake turned out to be fine pointing dogs. I hope each of you, at some time in your life, has the opportunity to watch a pointing dog work. They are such beautiful examples of the Master Creator’s design.
Many months ago, as I watched Greg work the dogs, God showed me that we are very much like a pointing dog. Each of our lives “point” to something. For the Christian, our lives should point to Christ. In John chapter 1, it is very clear that John the Baptist was sent from God for the purpose of pointing out the coming Christ. He was very adamant that he was not the Savior the Jews were looking for, but the one who came after him, Jesus, was that Savior. Some of the last words (Matthew 28: 18-20) that Christ spoke on this earth after His death and resurrection were instructions to his disciples to ‘tell the nations about me so that they will believe.’ We, too, are His disciples and our job is to tell others about Him and the eternal life He offers.
Our lives point toward what is most important to us. If that is not God, then we are pointing toward an idol or a false god. Anything or anyone that is more important to us than our relationship with God is an idol. This could be money, our jobs, our families, our position in society, our health….there are many possibilities. So, I ask you……what is your life “pointing” toward today? You will only know true peace and happiness when you are “pointing” toward the One who died to save you.
