selective hearing

Selective hearing. My dog has it. He only comes to you when he wants to. Our cats? I think they are deaf. Notice I said, my dog and our cats. I no longer claim the cats. They belong to the rest of the family. Cats cannot hear. They may look at you when you talk to them, but they do not speak English.

Lou the dog has selective hearing. If he is hungry or cold, he will come when you call. If he is warm and content, he is likely to ignore you. Sounds a bit like people. If we are comfortable, we don't want to be interrupted.

One of Lou's favorite hobbies is chasing rabbits. We occasionally let him out in the front yard to mark his territory. You have to be careful if you do this, because if you open the door and let him out, and he sees a rabbit or another dog, he is gone in a flash. This has happened so much recently, that I always look very closely to see if there is any other livestock visible from our door. I also have gone to walking out into the Yard with him so that he remembers who the alpha male is.

Lou is getting smarter. Yesterday morning, I opened the door and Lou ran out. I followed. About half way in to the yard, he noticed a rabbit across the street in a neighbor's yard. He bolted. It took me about three seconds to see what was happening and to find the wind to shout his name. "LOU!"

That is when the unthinkable happened. Lou stopped in his tracks. He watched the rabbit run around the corner of the house, then he turned around and came back to me.

I was proud of myself. I am the alpha male at our house. But, I was more proud of him. He is learning to do the right things.

And so I am wondering about what God thinks of my hearing? Do I only listen when I want to? Do I stick with my comfort and preferences and ignore his calling? What about you?

If Lou can learn to listen better, so can we.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.