You’re going to do WHAT with those clippers!?
For those of you who don’t know, for the past year I have worked at PetSmart as a dog bather. Though I’ve worked with dogs for years, this job has challenged me and taught me more than any other. It has, without a doubt, been the most challenging job I have ever had.
Why you ask?
Well, it’s as simple as this… dogs do not like to be groomed. It doesn’t matter how amazing a groomer is… or how much they love and care about the dog. Dog’s just don’t enjoy grooming. Sometimes I wish it was possible to get across the doggie-human translation barrier to tell them that I am only trying to help as I “torture” them to clip their nails or de-mat their tail. If only they could understand when I tell them, “Hold on, it will be over soon. Be still. Trust me.” All they feel is the discomfort or the pain… and they don’t like it.
This job has been incredibly challenging, but very rewarding. Though I find that more dogs dislike me in this job, I know that I am helping them. I am making them better.
Grooming is necessary. Grooming is important.
God is a Master Groomer.
As Christians, we, like dogs, need to be routinely groomed. Simply by living we develop emotional and spiritual “mats.” We get hurt, we screw up, we try to control our own lives… and we need God to point those things out and take some clippers to them. We can’t do it on our own.
This process of God’s grooming (sanctification) gets messy. It hurts. We, as a people, are broken. We are hurting. From my experience, we do not like it. It’s uncomfortable.
But it is so necessary. It is so important.
It’s amazing how God works. In planning to write this post days ago, I had no clue that God had a particularly hairy (pun intended) grooming session in store for me today. Or that I would need to reminded that I am His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10) and that He who began a good work in me would bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). He’s still in the process of bringing that good work to completion in me and in you.
Rest assured… through the long, uncomfortable de-matting he has to do in our lives, he is making us look more like we were intended to look… like HIM!
He is not unaware of the pain and discomfort it causes us.
He is comfort.
He is peace.
We need only be still and trust our Master Groomer.
