The life saving lessons from a sweet dog aptly named Gentle.

On my road trip in August, I went to Santa Fe and spend time with my friend Chuck and his dog, Gentle.  While there I got to see the two of them interact in a special way. Chuck told me some stories about how Gentle is teaching him to be gentler (more “gentle”). Over the next few weeks, with his permission, I am going to share part of his story. Chuck had no intention of getting a dog. However, God had a different idea. 

When Chuck first saw Gentle, he looked him in the eyes and at that moment they were connected. Gentle was just a pup. When they got home Chuck used an old kennel crate to train him. While training Gentle, Chuck realized that he was really trying to control the dog. All of Chuck’s anger issues boiled to the top during this time and he even would pound on the kennel. Gentle would respond by snarling at him from the crate and Chuck realized he had gone too far.

Chuck got Gentle towards the end of his 2nd marriage. His anger was slow-burning and passive-aggressive most of the time, with an occasional eruption. When his wife told him to leave, she also told him “and take your dog with you”. Chuck told me that was probably the best thing she could have ever said to him. By that time, Gentle’s bond with Chuck had grown in a deeper way, licking his hand at bedtime. Chuck moved into a spare room with a family member and took Gentle with him. He would come home at the end of the day and greet Gentle with a nice tone but not-so-nice words: “you rotten dog, how are ya”…  After doing that a few times, Chuck realized that even though he had been not so gentle with Gentle, the dog still loved him and greeted him with a wagging tail.

Chuck began to question why he was so angry. Even though he was calm and rarely raised his voice he had deep anger inside him that came out in a passive-aggressive, sarcastic, sneaky way. The first thing Gentle did for Chuck, without speaking a word, was to show Chuck the anger that he had inside him.  Chuck said that if Gentle had been able to speak to him about his anger, he would have just argued and defended his actions.

This was the beginning of Chuck really dealing with his anger. There are two more really great things that Chuck has been able to learn by having this dog in his life that he never thought he wanted or needed.  Isn’t it just like God to give us exactly what we need to get us to the healing place we so long for in a way that we could never see coming? Also, Gentle and Chuck are inseparable now and there is no more “banging” on the kennel, just wait until you read the rest of the story over the next few weeks.

Chuck has even written a song for Gentle and I will share a video of that soon! Is there something or someone you are resisting in your life that God could be trying to draw to you?  Maybe God is ready to do a new thing in your life and it is time to trust Him to guide you to a gentle new place.

Blessings,  

Coach Dale
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