Dixie Has Been Forced to Retire

I mentioned in the porch chat a couple weeks back that my beloved Dixie Belle had given up on chasing squirrels. I’m sorry that comment made so many of y’all sad but it is what it is. There was a time when Dixie chased the squirrels around here to China and back on a regular basis. Not anymore. These days squirrels treat our backyard like a playground while the old girl watches with only the slightest of interest from her spot in the shade. For what it’s worth, I will not be stripping Dixie of her title. Despite her forced retirement, she is still the All Things Southern Squirrel Patrol Czar to me.

Watching our aging pets decline is a constant reminder to us that life is temporal and we are all passing through. I’ve heard it suggested that this could be why God gave them shorter life spans. Maybe that’s true. It makes sense to me that God, in His infinite wisdom, could be reminding me through Dixie that even if I live what is considered to be a long full life, my stay on this earth will still be brief against the backdrop of time. I find that thought anything but depressing. Let me tell you what sound much worse.

I would hate to relinquish my pursuit of this world one day because I’ve grown too old or too tired to do anything else. That seems to me an all time tragedy when God is extending an invitation to each of us to live a deep and wide life in His Spirit! As believers, we’re called to yield to His priorities and purposes and I’m asking Him to continue to teach me to do just that. If we’ll submit our agendas to Him, instead of losing them out of a forced retirement, we can carry buckets of treasures into our twilight years instead of regrets. Oh, here’s some of the best news ever. If that sounds good to you, age is immaterial. If you can hear me, you can still change your course and join me!

Hugs, Shellie