Perspective From the Kennel

I'm not going bike-riding today. As I was making plans yesterday, I hadn't taken into account how hot it's going to be today.

This morning, I found and article by Elder Neil L. Andersen. It's titled The Master's Love. It's about a man Elder Andersen once met while he was at an airport in France. The man was there to pick up his dog.

Through his work, he'd been transfered to Bordeaux, and couldn't take his dog with him right away, so he put his beloved pet in a kennel while he arranged things so his dog could join him in the new city.

As Elder Andersen though about this, he considered how frightening this must be for the dog: To have gone from a comfortable and familiar home with a loving master, to a kennel full of strangers.

He did not realize that his master had a plan for him, that they would soon be reunited, and that in the meantime, his master was paying for his kennel and his food, ensuring that he would be kept in a warm place out of the cold. All that time his master was preparing a place for him at an even finer house in Bordeaux.

Then the dog would be put through an even more frightening experience - air travel.

Again, in my mind I could imagine two men arriving at the kennel one day, taking the dog, and putting him in the crate. Soon the Labrador found himself in the belly of an airplane. Again he must have wondered what was happening. I could imagine his fear.

When  he arrived at the airport and was let out of his crate, he was obviously scared and confused.

Then suddenly the eyes of the black Labrador met the eyes of his master. Immediately, the dog’s behavior changed. His barking stopped and his tail started wagging. He jumped into the arms of his master and they embraced,

Elder Andersen went on to explain what he'd learned from witnessing that experience, but in my opinion, the analogy is obvious.

We once had a home in heaven. God, our Father, was with us, as were Jesus Christ and everyone else. We probably could have spent eternity there and have been fairly happy, but God had other plans. He had an even better future planned for us, but as an essential part in that plan we'd have to spend some time on earth. Earth isn't quite as bad as a kennel for most people, but it's not exactly heaven either, and the worst part about life on earth is the doubt and the fear. We forget sometimes that there's a God in Heaven who loves us. We forget that He has a plan for us. We sometimes forget what we must do to fulfill our part of that plan. And sometimes we can only wonder whether there is a plan at all.

Then an even more frightening experience happens - death. Death, while not so frightening to those who have great faith, is so shrouded in mystery that most people fear it and try to prevent it for as long as they can. But death is another essential part of the plan. As Elder Andersen said:

Someday we will return to stand before our Master. At that moment, if we have lived as we should, we will experience in person His great love, and with the greatest happiness and satisfaction we will hear our Master say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: … enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21).

Like the dog, it's only natural for us to feel confused, afraid, and discouraged. But unlike him, we have been blessed with a way to communicate with our Master and receive comfort and encouragement from Him. We don't have to feel alone. God is preparing great things for us, and His love is always only a prayer away.