"Pigheaded" Makes So Much More Sense.
This is Pedro.
He's pretty much the best dog we've ever had.
Is he a dog? Nope. Is he a cat? Nope. But don't tell HIM that. According to him, he is a weird combination of pig/dog/cat... A pig-at-og...pigatog...that's kinda fun to say, actually...
ANYWHO!
He's SUPER smart, and his intelligence tells him, often, when he needs to back down from a fight and because of this? He avoids unnecessary confrontations. I think Christians could learn a lot from him in that arena. BUT! That is not the point of my ramblings today.
But then...He's only ever had to make that decision with a fence between him and who or whatever he has come into contact with that made him nervous...UNTIL last week.
See what had happen was: On a Thursday evening, the stud hubs was making the rounds to lock up the house for bed and saw blue lights flashing through the glass on our front door. Curiously, he opened it to find two patrol cars and a truck with a horse trailer parked in the street at the edge of our yard. We live in a quiet subdivision and this is not normal, lol...Especially the horse trailer part. He stood on our front porch assessing the situation and discovered that these officers and another person were trying to convince a wayward little donkey to get on the trailer.
He called me over to the door.
"What's going on out there??" I asked.
"Somebody lost a donkey."
"Hm."
"Yep." He stated, keeping his eyes on the unfolding comedy.
"They're trying to catch him with carrots..." He continued.
"What??" I strained to look past him into the night and sure enough, there they were holding out carrots to a very unconvinced little burrow in the blue lights shadows. "Well they aint gonna catch him like that."
"Nope." He turned and started toward the garage to grab his muck boots.
"Hey there's a bucket in the garage...You grabbing some of Pedro's pellets?"
"Yep. On it."
SO! Naturally? Having years of rural law enforcement under his belt, haha, and years of dealing with loose livestock in the middle of the night, not to mention the years of experience with the equine species from our history with rodeo and owning horses, he mosied on out to see what he could do to help. Wyatt, our 17 year old, being intrigued and amused, followed him out.
In about 30 minutes, he and Wyatt came back in:
"Hey" Shane said, "Can you see if you can work your magic with this little guy? He aint having none of us."
So at 11:00pm I crawled out of bed, threw on my rubber boots and trudged out to try to speak a little donkey to this lost fella.
Funny thing? As soon as I walked down the driveway, The truck with the trailer left. THEY LEFT YALL. I'm like...Where you think YOU going?? How is this donkey getting out of here when we catch him?? It was then that I began to have a sinking feeling...
After a few minutes of evaluation, I came to the conclusion that the little guy had no idea what feed was...leading me to believe that he was from a big pasture somewhere...and that our efforts to cajole him into compliance were pretty much going to be fruitless...other than his curiosity. SO! One of the officers and I herded him up our driveway and we closed him in and gave him no other path but into our back yard...
...With Pedro...
...Who was asleep...
...Because he's a stickler about a 9pm bedtime...
The officers asked if the donkey could stay in our back yard for the night until they could figure out what to do with him and for him.
Short story?? We agreed with the understanding that Pedro was first priority and that if it got testy back there, the donkey had to go.
...Because that little pig is our baby...Like it's really pitiful how much we love him, haha.
We shook on it and off they went back to patrol...And, as my earlier dread was now confirming, we had a donkey.
Pedro, was curious about the racket and popped around the corner.
Haha! He skidded to a halt and was like...WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?! Nervous, curious grunts and a lot of sniffing ensued. We stood close by to watch their interaction and the donkey was curious and obviously not mean spirited. After a few minutes, it appeared that Pedro was actually a little happy about this new friend in his space. We watched them together for about thirty minutes, and we decided it was mostly safe, and Pedro followed us back to the house and crawled back into his bed.
Fast forward to the next morning:
I knew that, soon, someone would be coming to claim him, so I began to work with him on eating out of bucket (which terrified him at first). Once he realized that sweet pellets were nummy and once he settled into eating out of the bucket, I started rubbing my hands all over his face and eyes, folding his massively long ears forward and back, rubbing all over his upper neck and under his chin to get him used to the touches involved in putting a halter on.
All during this process, he was bonding with me... Much to Pedro's chagrin.
So here I have two "uncut" male animals...Both really like me...
Pedro's mistake: Misjudging His Rival, Misplaced Possessiveness, and Over-Protection
Here's how it went down:
1. Donkey was eating and I was close to his head rubbing him all over his face.
2. Pedro didn't really like how close I was standing to him...or how close this intruder was to ME.
3. Donkey was hungry and REALLY liked this new sweet taste.
4. Pedro took it upon his little self to try to get between us and bully Donkey away from his Mama.
5. Donkey was like...No, HAIL No...This is my friend and that's MY food.
6. Saw the big ears pin back, I jumped back but Pedro was in my way and I almost fell over him.
7. Pedro got stomped and bowled over and chased.
It was horrible and it seemed to happen in slow motion...My baby was caught under the unforgiving hooves of one who was defending his new found friend and food...and I could do nothing to stop it other than throw my hands in the air, holler "HEY! HEY!" at the top of my lungs, and jump toward the squealing, grunting, tumble with the hopes of startling the donkey out of his resolve...Which, thankfully, it did.
I ran to Pedro, and he was so in "panic mode" that he couldn't tell if I was friend or foe and he backed away from me squealing and barking. After a few minutes of soft words and slow movements, I was able to reassure him and assess his wounds...Which were topical, but a pig's hide is thick and to draw blood takes a traumatic force. He was bleeding slightly in a few places on his shoulder but I was more concerned about an internal shoulder injury.
My first instinct, as I was comforting my piggie, was to say, "That's it. Call those cops and tell them to get their @#$%@ over here to come get this @&^%$ animal out of my @^%$# yard." But as I sat there watching the donkey eating, common sense kicked back in.
He wasn't the one in the wrong here. It was Pedro. Pedro was the one who had decided that Mama needed to be protected and that Donkey needed to back up. Pedro was the one who pushed himself between us and was bullying Donkey while he was trying to eat. Pedro was the one who actually BIT Donkey on the pastern (small part right above the hoof that connects the leg to the hoof). Pedro was the one who overestimated his physical prowess and underestimated Donkey's size and ability. Pedro started it and Donkey finished it. I couldn't fault the donkey.
From that point on, even though Pedro was the reason the whole incident started, he didn't trust Donkey, and there was ZERO chance that there would ever be a friendship between them. Donkey approached him many times after...Ears forward, expression open, curiously wanting to connect...Not recalling the incident at all. But Pedro? He didn't forget, but his memory was that this animal had hurt him and like a pitbull, he was holding on to that grudge.
Then Papa began to talk to me about Christianity...How we are a lot like Pedro.
Can I be transparent here?
A lot of times I feel like the one caught in the middle of the "righteous" and the "least of these"...The "Jews" and the "Gentiles".
Forgive me for comparing humanity to an ass and a stubborn pig, but here it is:
There are so many who have never tasted the sweetness of our Father. They are unsure and scared to come near and to trust those who profess Christianity. People like myself who have compassion for them and who God has given creative, divine strategy on how to help them trust again, reach out and make contact with them. They taste the goodness of His love and compassion and the ones who connected them to this source become life lines at first. There's a relationship that is formed..one of trust and mutual respect and careful, intentional understanding and patience.
And then, there are the ones who see all of this and feel this rationalized righteous jealousy. They see the interaction from the outside and react instead of reflect. They charge in to protect those who need no protection. They push themselves into situations and conversations that they have not sought the heart of the Father in, and they bully. They bully in the name of Jesus, as if that makes their behavior acceptable. They insist, in pig-headed stubbornness, that what ever they disapprove of is wrong based upon their own convictions, sets of ideals, and personal raising...Without ever ONCE considering that the hearts of the donkeys are held in the balance. These pigs are more concerned about defending an ideal or a personal paradigm than they are about the effect that that close-minded unwillingness to listen has on the openness of a wounded, distrusting heart to hear that Love gave His life for them to be accepted, healed, delivered, and set free.
Then they actually are surprised when the donkeys react the way they do. That is the saddest part to me. These pigs get bowled over and then actually blame the donkeys for the pain that they experience as a result of their jealous, possessive, self-righteous behavior. And another thing? They plant themselves so close to the ones that God has actually placed in the role of peacemaker and ministry, that these special forces middle-men can actually stumble and fall over them. These proverbial Pedros are so intent on coming between them and the donkeys that the donkeys no longer see the truth..they only see and hear the loud, bossy, squealing and grunting, pig-headed, righteously right people that are up in their face...and they react.
Its instinct to blame the one who does the most damage.
Especially when your "brothers and sisters" have been bowled over and trampled...But if we will just sit down and shut up and let common sense and wisdom speak...We might just see that the Pedros of the Christian world actually deserved every last bit of what they got...Going to war over crazy misperceptions...imposing their own convictions upon those that are around them...Not willing to listen or understand...Expecting a donkey to bow to a bossy, confused pig...and then pulling the victim card when they get bowled over and trampled....And you hold a grudge.
No amount of talking or reasoning can convince them that most donkeys are not mean spirited and are curious about our faith...But these pigs, shut them down based off of one offense or the offense of others.
I cant tell you how many "Pedros" have misquoted scripture to defend their racism, elitism, prideful, and separatist behaviors and I'm very sure that some of you reading this have suddenly started thinking that I'm not such a great influence and that I'm deceived. That's fine, Pedro. You can have your church and stay safely inside your religious bubble defending all of the reasons why you feel you have the right to belittle, pass judgment and distance yourself, if you want to.
Me? I know where I am, whose I am, and those who He has given my heart to love. Those donkeys are precious to me...I don't need your protection from them...because they aren't mean spirited. I know exactly how to interact with them because that's what Papa God called me to.
The last thing I, or any others called to the hurting and wounded and confused and abandoned, need is for you to uninvitedly place yourself in a position that will cause more than one to stumble and fall. If you find yourself in that place, know that you might get kicked (by me or the donkey) and that sudden realization that you just got nailed? That's your own fault. Don't you dare blame the donkey when, if you had let Wisdom speak to you, it never would have happened...and you could have had a donkey as a friend.
You know? Donkeys are actually really good friends to have. They have no fear and will protect their friends with their lives. Hey Pedro Christian...You're missing out on a really cool guy to have in your corner when the wolves get in the pasture.
Here, have a look at Proverbs...
Wisdom’s Rebuke
20Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,
she raises her voice in the public square;
at the city gate she makes her speech:
22“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
23Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.
24But since you refuse to listen when I call
and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,
25since you disregard all my advice
and do not accept my rebuke,
26I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you—
27when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
28“Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me,
29since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the Lord.
30Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
31they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
32For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
Just Saying.
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