Gremlin
The cutest little mutt named Gremlin has been visiting our office frequently over the past couple of weeks. My friend and co-worker, Gabe Shalley is one of the local foster parents for the Humane Society which means that if a dog has been abandoned, injured or given up by its owner, she will care for the dog until it is adopted. Scruffy looking Gremlin is one of the dogs that had been mistreated, so he is quite skittish around people.
Since I love dogs I thought it would be fun for Gremlin to visit my desk which is about 20 yards from Gabe’s, so I went to get him. Walking him back to my cube, he kept looking over his shoulder as if to say, “Where is my security…Gabe? Where is this person taking me? What is she going to do to me?”
However, we continued sauntering through the hall, and I was thinking that once he was in my lap he would feel safe and comfortable. Wrong…I lifted him into my lap and then tried to get back to work, but Gremlin was shaking and looking around. I quickly realized that I was not doing him any favors, but instead was making his current situation worse. He had been mistreated by his former owner, was put in the care of someone else and now I was snatching him away from the one person he had learned to trust.
It was determined that I should return him to his foster mom who was surprised at his rapid return. We now have a new plan, Gabe will walk Gremlin to my desk and let him become familiar with me and I allow him to sniff, wander and even prop his feet on my chair in order to get used to being around me.
I should never have forced myself on cute little Gremlin. Building a relationship so that it would be his desire to be with me makes a whole lot more sense. Our faith is similar; we shouldn’t try to force it on someone that we don’t know. Instead a better way of sharing our faith is with people who know us, who have seen how we live our lives and who have experienced our friendship.
1 Corinthians 9:22b-23 I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings.
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