Ted's Blue Bonnet

We spoke this week about casting our nets on the "right side of the boat." Ted, our church dog, has unwillingly become my mentor for this concept this week.

It seems he caught his dew claw on something, and started licking it to make it feel better. Unfortunately, his licking caused an infection, so the more he licked, the worse it became. With such hairy toes, it took us a few days to catch it. By the time we took him into the vet, his toe was not a pretty sight.

The cure? A bit of ointment each day... But mostly the solution was simply: STOP LICKING YOUR WOUNDS.

Of course, you can't tell this to a dog. He went right on licking anyway. So we gave him a special gift - his blue bonnet.

When we first put it on him, he couldn't sit still. He kept trying to bump it off, twist around it, lick over it, or run away from it. He did not handle it well.

Yet, today, his paw is doing much better, and he has learned to adapt to his bonnet. In fact, when I can keep an eye on him, he occasionally goes hours at a time before remembering his paw and returning to his old licking ways.

While the bonnet may be frustrating, and possible even a bit embarrassing for a dog as regal as Ted, I have looked to him at least a few times this week with a bit of envy. Wouldn't it be nice to have some type of gadget that kept us from licking our emotional wounds? Even if it was frustrating in the beginning, wouldn't it be handy to be able to strap these on each other when we start casting our nets on the left side of the boat? Thinking those thoughts that we KNOW do not serve us?

What if we had a bonnet that would keep our focus away from our problems, our imperfections, and our complaints so that the ONLY option was to focus on where we want to go next? Would I want to wear that bonnet? Or would I twist and squirm and resist so that I could go back to my old ways?

I'm watching Ted let go of his resistance and heal. A small price to pay for a few days of looking ridiculous... :)