Whining and Longing for Something Better
Grandpa lives with us; Grandpa Sam, our dog, that is. Sam is our thirteen-year-old border collie. Three summers ago, while hiking on vacation, a passerby called our sweet Sam “Grandpa,” and the name stuck.
Grandpa has two bad back legs. His sniffer is weak and he’s mostly deaf. It’s necessary for us to tell him to stop when he’s drinking water or he drinks too much, too fast and throws up.
Sam the Whiner
Grandpa Sam whines: he whines all the time. It’s this low volume, high pitch, hum? It’s hard to describe and it’s incessant. We’ve wondered if he’s in pain, but he doesn’t act like he is beyond the whining. The whining gets louder when someone walks by, or he sees another dog out the window, or he’s desperate for attention.
Sam, Lover of Attention
Grandpa Sam is a people dog. He always wants to be where we are, and he loves to be in the center of it all. He will move from person to person when our small group meets, nuzzling and whining to each person, begging for attention. The moment you scratch his ears, he moves close and sits down to enjoy the petting being offered. When you stop, or even hesitate, he will prod you with his nose demanding you to get back to business.
God has used Sam through the years to teach me a variety of lessons. Grandpa Sam’s whining, and his insistent demands for attention, have been tools God has used before (see my blog post Sam, the Whiner Dog).
A Needy Soul
I recently read Soul Keeping by John Ortberg for the third or fourth time. Ortberg describes the soul as needy. He says that the soul can’t get enough, it is always needy. Our soul doesn’t need stuff or accomplishments or satisfaction, but “our need was meant to point us to God.”
Sometimes we get confused about what will satisfy. We happily create birthday lists, Christmas lists, Amazon lists and just-because lists. There’s so much stuff out there to fulfill every whim.
We imagine if we were thinner or more accomplished, life would be better. We snap photos and create ideal posts, so we get likes and followers on social media. We dress for success, paste on a smile, and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.
Longing for Something Better
And we whine, just like Grandpa Sam, because we are longing for something better.
At the end of his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul says this:
“And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything: for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:14-18
Filling the Need
We often read this passage and just see a list of things to do that we should check off. Somehow or other, the list becomes just another thing to complain about. We long to do what is right and pleasing to God, but it seems like too much work and counterproductive.
I encourage you to remember, your soul is needy; your soul is desperate to be in right relationship with the God who created you.
What If…
What if, instead of whining about what we are lacking, we took the time to invest our energies in improving someone else’s life? What if, instead of focusing on what would make us appear better, we stopped and listened to the story of another, giving them value and strength by just our presence? What if, instead of stuffing down our pain and moving forward as if nothing were wrong, we were honest with the One who loves us most, lamenting, and then giving thanks for who Christ is in our lives?
“…this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
We will all whine from time to time. I admit, a little bit of whining now and again, with a bowl of ice cream, gives me strength to move forward. There are times Grandpa Sam’s whining tells me how life appears from his perspective. I get it, he just wants something so badly. Other times, we demand that he stop! We must learn to listen for Jesus’ voice speaking, “Are you done now? It’s time to move on.”
What if, when we feel the need to whine, we remind ourselves our soul is needy? What if, instead of gushing out all we think is wrong, or all we want to be different, we went to the foot of the cross, and invested ourselves in knowing God better? What if. . .?
You always uplift me! I know why Grandpa Sam whines and I know what would help Sam but I’m not sure you and Tim are up to it. Sam would feel better if he had a puppy around to take the attention off himself and the puppy would be all over him making him feel loved and constantly “rubbed”. But, do you want t new puppy? Sam is a wise dog. Attention is wonderful in old age. We can’t do much for ourselves anymore and we want others to visit with or pay us attention. Sometimes there is too much attention though. This may be the problem with getting Sam a puppy. Love you and miss you my friend! Wish you lived next door so we could have coffee together and long talks! <3
Oh my goodness! You made me laugh so hard!! I don’t think Sam needs (or wants) a puppy… but thanks for brightening my day! Love you my friend!! Coffee and a long talk sounds amazing!!