Victor, The Homeless Chihuahua

I want to tell Victor's story, but I first have to make something clear. I hate chihuahua's. There, I said it. My closest friends have them but I have always secretly hated them and kept it to myself. I like big dogs. Plain and simple.  Ok, now that that's out I don't feel like a liar anymore.

Victor is a homeless chihuahua that lives on my street.  The homes on my street pretty much have no fences so Victor is free to roam as he pleases.  When I first moved in, I saw this strange animal take notice of me and then run for his life down the dirt path next to the neighboring garden. Seriously, I did not know what the heck it was. I thought it was a rabbit because it ran too awkwardly to be a cat.  

Then one day we were BBQing on the back patio and this animal comes out to beg.  He had no collar and some matted fur. I figured it was the funny animal I saw running weeks prior.

So we fed it, but it would not let us pet him.  My husband kept saying he was just using us.  As the days went by we named him Victor because it is the name of a street on his turf.  We also noticed him frequenting our back door when it was dinner time.  But now we are noticing some new behavior in our peculiar little buddy.

He is coming around a lot more.  He is also venturing into our home, when he feels safe, and when we leave the back door open. For a few days now he will come in, without letting us pet him, and then run back outside when we get too close. Even though I hate chihuahua's I think he is sort of cute.  When I open the door he sits there and wont come in...then I will shut the door he scratches on the door to enter....repeat.

I even think his ears are so cute. They are huge like Dumbo compared to his little face.  They swing all around his head almost to communicate emotion.  And the coolest part is the peace he gave me a few nights ago. I was sitting on the patio and he comes running up, happy to see me.  But of course he sat five feet away to protect himself.  It's almost like he wants a home but is afraid. I wondered what his little story was and what he had been through.  Was he just a fashion that went out of style to some trendy twenty something?  Has he been fighting the mean streets of Utah for months now, while his sensitive heart has become bitter and cold?  (I need to get a life, I know)

So I thought about little Victor.  Then this whole scenario came to me.  I know in the past God found it pleasing to himself to speak to me through situations and this little dog brought one of those spiritual applications.

Victor is so accustomed to the big bad world that he is finding it hard to trust whats best for him.  He wants to draw near to me but will retreat back outside due to fear and comfortability. And truth be told, I think he likes some of the shennagans he is used to out in the darkness!  One night I saw two huge cats tear through the yard and after them comes Victor in a snarl.

I can't help but see a correlation to us and how we are with God in our first encounters with him...or when we have ventured back into "the world" and know we need him.  We have made a mess in the world.  Our fur is matted, our hearts have grown cold....and we know that spiritual things fill us, and they warm us.  We know that they nourish and satisfy, while the sin and temporary fun always leaves us empty.

We come near to God, at his door, yet keep looking back into the world because it's comfortable and it's enticing.  God opens it but we stand in the doorway...and linger.

I'm not sure what Victor will ultimately choose.  He is learning to trust.  He is lonely.  He is getting closer everyday.  I just want to bathe him and clean him up but I cannot force him to stay.  And just like our heavenly father- he will only clean us up if we let him.

Hopefully Victor will grow tired of chasing tail in the garden and start living life more abundantly!