20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:20-21
The first night we had our puppy, I didn’t sleep a wink. I was listening on a baby monitor for any signs that she may need to go out. She slept like a rock, but I was up every couple hours sure that she needed to go to the bathroom and determined to set her up for crate success.
The next night was a little bit better. I only woke up three times and insisted she go out each time just in case. Every time, she immediately ran back to the door because the grass was wet, and she wanted to go back to bed.
By the third night, I was finally calm enough to just see how things went. And they went perfectly. She slept until the merry hour of 6:00 am. Then, she went out, did her business, and peacefully cuddled up with the family.
Every article I read said that puppies weren’t supposed to sleep through the night until they were at least 16 weeks old, and at a mere 10 weeks, Chloe was doing it. By every literal interpretation of every puppy guide, something was horribly wrong. She must not be growing enough, have enough nutrition. Maybe the rescue we got her from had her aged wrong, and we were missing all the appropriate milestones of her real age setting us up for a lifetime of misery with a dog that isn’t properly socialized, anxious, and constantly nipping at everyone’s heels.
This by the book interpretation created a whole lot more anxiety that it was worth. Turns out, Chloe is fine. She’s perfectly well adjusted, doing all the normal puppy things, and getting ready to go to puppy camp to sort out any training challenges.
I couldn’t help but notice, though, how taking an article as absolute truth caused me to miss the abundant joy that I wasn’t stuck in a newborn nightmare again with a living being that needed care every couple hours around the clock.
Printed words have abundant power. Power to persuade, inspire, confuse. Almost always there are at least two sides to every story, and the actual truth lies somewhere in the middle. The real story is at the conjunction of what we’ve read, how we interpret it, experiences we’ve had, and how we place feelings to it. That’s why a literal interpretation of anything – a news story from the perspective of one outlet, a Biblical reference taken out of context – can cause a lot more harm than good.
As good critical thinkers, people, and Christians, we must take everything we hear and read, as an opportunity to grow our own experience, filling in the gaps and seeking more information. Indeed, that’s the only way we will be able to truly see, love, and accept all of our neighbors as God would have us do.
Blessings,
Emalee Sugano
Lord, may we strive to seek your truth, not relying on any one source or reference; but seeking answers from multiple sources, people, and frameworks. May we recognize that our way is not always the best way (or even the right way), and strive to find Your way in all that we read, say, and do. Amen.