This is Dangles. He is a beloved dog by our Paratroopers on this JSS. I can't leave here without posting about Dangles.
There is a difference of opinion, culturally speaking, on how Americans and Iraqis view man's best friend. Dangles has been around us since our first platoon arrived here in December of 2008. Dangles got his name because someone decided to shoot him, and everyone thought he ran off to die. But Dangles emerged, a tough old dog, with a permanent limp and a back leg that just . . . dangles. Ergo, his name.
When I took this picture, he had flies all over him. A new Sergeant that arrived complimented the dog in front of me, trying to scatter the flies off of him as I took his picture. Americans just love Dangles.
Dangles even tried to run with me on three legs when I took my PT test in July. He owns the place. If you think he's a mild mannered canine and he's there to be pushed around, you'll have to think again. No one who taunts this dog will get away with it. He will love you, but he'll also make you respect him.
Although I've just written some flattering words about a wounded dog, I can't help think about the analogy of Dangles to Christians. I think about the book that Henri Nouwen wrote, "Wounded Healer." Though all of us have been tainted by sin, those who allow Christ in our lives will emerge not just with God's Spirit, but we will rise again in the Resurrection to eternal life someday.
Though God's Spirit lives in us as Christians, we are still touched by sin in and around us. We no longer have a mortal wound that will lead us to death, but we still carry around with us the effects of it. We are like Dangles.
Dangles is one confident canine. Everyone who meets him is impressed by this dog. Christians in the same way can be confident that God has got our backs, that He loves us, and will never forsake us, and He empowers us by his Spirit. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead can live in you. Do you want that?
Every time I saw Dangles I didn't feel pity for him; he was a living reminder of what God wants to do in me.
