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by Jimmy Cochran
Published March 30, 2007

As I moved the needle closer and closer my heart raced faster and faster. The unsuspecting body sitting there had no idea that he was about to have a hypodermic syringe plunged into his neck by someone who has never done this before. My shaking hand moved slowly to gather up a fold of skin in which to plunge the needle; deliberately and determinedly taking hold when all of a sudden the patient bounded up in a state of pure rage and grasped my hand with his teeth with all the fury which a fifteen pound terrier can muster.

I was attempting to give Murphy his first insulin shot. He was diagnosed several days ago and my lot in life is to inject his neck with the insulin once a day. However, in the split second it took to bribe him to my lap with a treat, he turned from my always mild-mannered and loveable pet to a wild beast of the field. As his head turned (much like Linda Blair in “The Exorcist”) to engage my hand with his teeth, my survival mode kicked in to push him away with one hand, throw the needle across the room with the other hand and run shrieking like a schoolgirl as he gave chase. When we finally calmed down and I could come down from the top of the piano, I began to tell Murphy, “This is just supposed to help you! Why are you attacking me? You have a disease and we need to do this in order to make you better, you ungrateful little dog! Why can’t you understand that?”

Do we not sometimes do the same thing when God tries to help us or teach us along the way? Do we not (figuratively) bite back when God begins to guide us in a direction that we don’t think we want to go? All we know is that our “What I Want” world is being challenged and the results seem rather painful and uncomfortable. We pray “O Father, please show us which path you want for us to go”, but when He does, and we don’t really like the route, we rebel. We pray “God, please help me to be a stronger witness for you”, but when He attempts to teach us strength through obstacles and personalities, we run whimpering back to our safe little world.

Even though he is a very intelligent dog, Murphy does not have the reasoning ability that humans do. His English pea sized brain only knows that I feed him, play with him and will always take care of him. That belief was threatened, so he responded with his inbred nature. We have the ability to know that God loves and cares for us and would never put us in a position which we could not handle with His strength and help, yet we respond all too often with our human nature of self desire.

Someday, hopefully, Murphy will trust me enough to give him the medicine he needs to bring him back to good health and a right relationship with his own body. He cannot stay at this point for long or his health will deteriorate and he will die. If we do not allow God to inject us with stronger faith and life experiences, we will grow stagnant and become less useful disciples. Our spiritual health will suffer and we will lose out on our relationship with God and with our fellow believers. Trust the Hand that Feeds you!

And for today my friends, this is the gospel according to Jimmy.

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