Click, click, click went the four paws of our Wonderdog, through the house, looking for something, someone … me.
On this particular day, I was hidden from view by a large framed print, leaning against a coffee table, and I was snuggled up on the sofa behind it. He had been searching upstairs and down, with no luck in locating his master. I was giggling to myself, for this self-appointed protector of the household was oblivious to my presence … just a few feet away.
He is my constant companion when I am home and I frequently think of the verse from Proverbs:
” … a real friend sticks closer than a brother.”
Proverbs 18:24
Anyone who has ever had the experience of being ‘possessed’ by a dog (or cat … if it’s that kind of cat) knows of what I speak.
They think that the moon rises and falls on you. They are excited to see you arrive home, and obviously sad and rejected when you leave (without them). They position themselves always between a stranger/guest and you. They stick close, all the time. They know, though self/nature appointed, themselves to be your companion, protector.
When Solomon speaks of “a real friend sticks closer than a brother”, he is both reminding us that we can have relationships, friendships that are even closer than family. Those are those friends who we choose, who have chosen us and with whom we would go the distance with … they make our hearts soar with delight. We and they would drop what we are doing for the other. With us they laugh, cry and share the deepest of thoughts and emotions. They want to spend time with us and we with them.
He is also reminding us that Christ is also such a friend, for he too will go the distance with us … he has already gone the distance for us. He desires that we share our tears, laughter and deepest thoughts. He wants to spend time with us, to be our companion, he is our protector.
He is closer than a brother or beast.
itsawonderfilledlife 