If you've been reading my newsletters for some years, you might remember that, shortly after we planted a local church in Alhaurin de la Torre, some of the church members started a charity called the ABC. It celebrated its tenth anniversary this month, and over that decade it has grown into a thriving food bank and charity shop that has the support of the town council and the local community. As well as distributing food packages to more than 300 families every week, and running a second hand clothes shop in the town centre, the ABC also has regular outreach breakfasts with the staff and volunteers (who are a mixture of believers and non-believers.)
My friend, Sarah, contacted me to tell me about a woman who was receiving food packages from the ABC and also coming regularly to the breakfasts. "She has problems with her dogs," explained Sarah. "She's part of a sports team, but she can never go away on a trip because the dogs attack every other dog or person that they meet, so she can't ask anyone to look after them or even to go to her house to take them out for a walk. So I told her I had a friend that is kind of a dog whisperer and that you would probably be able to help her rehabilitate them!"
With this somewhat limited information (Sarah had no idea if the two dogs were big or small; if they were Chihuahuas or Rottweilers) I agreed to phone the woman and meet with her. On our first encounter, I arrived at the nearby park and spotted this obviously nervous woman with two Spanish water dogs - that curly haired breed that is so popular in this part of the world. I approached her slowly, being careful not to make any sudden movements. Even so, the black dog suddenly flew at me and closed her teeth around my arm, while the brown dog barked furiously!
However, when she didn't actually bite me, that happily confirmed my suspicion that the dogs were reactive (fearful) rather than aggressive, and that they just needed some socialising with other more balanced dogs. After an hour and a half of walking and working with them, first with Buba and Nelson, and later with Bonnie, the transformation was nothing short of spectacular; they were calmly greeting other dogs in the park, and paying no attention at all when children ran screaming by.
We continued their "therapy" with Buba and Nelson over the following week, sometimes walking around the park and sometimes heading out to the countryside. The owner had told me that her dogs had never been off-lead, as she was afraid they would run away. On our second time out in the countryside, she suddenly astounded me by asking, "Do you think I could let them run off leash with Nelson and Buba?" Before we knew it, her two dogs were happily chasing sticks, running around with my two, and being totally relaxed when other people with dogs big and small passed by. "This is amazing," the owner kept saying. "It's a miracle. In four days, these dogs are transformed."
"How do they behave now when you take them out alone?" I asked, and was only a little surprised when she answered, "Oh, they're just the same as they've always been." I realised that when they were alone with their owner, they were picking up on her anxious attitude and nervousness about all the previous bad experiences she'd had with them. But when they were with us, they were picking up the relaxed attitude of the rest of the pack, and behaving just like normal, balanced dogs.
When you think about it, it's just the same with us as human beings. We are influenced more than we realise by the people we spend our time with. If we hang out with negative, complaining people, we will tend to pick up that same pessimistic attitude. If the people who surround us are positive, thankful people, their outlook on life will tend to rub off on us.
That's why the apostle Paul, in his letters to the Corinthians warns them to be careful about who they spend time with. "Bad company corrupts good character," he says, as he urges the believers to be careful about spending time with people who will influence them towards sin, doubt or unbelief. If we surround ourselves with people of faith, we will find that our own faith will tend to grow stronger. In dog terms, we're tapping into "the power of the pack."
Jesus Himself spoke of the power of community, especially when it comes to prayer. He told us that when two or three believers agree together about something, what they ask for in prayer will be given to them. That's partly because of the anointing of unity, but also because praying together with someone else will usually tend to increase our faith, just as it also increases our motivation to grow in our relationship with God. (This is probably why our enemy the devil will do all he can to make us unwilling to pray out loud with other believers.)
Where are you linked in to life-giving community? Don't be like those two Spanish water dogs, whose fears and anxiety had dominated their lives for seven years. Tap into the power of the pack, and find friends who will strengthen your faith and help you grow in your walk with God. It will make all the difference.
