How Barking Dogs and Bold Foxes Led Me to Peace
Today, I’m going to share a morning adventure with you, but before I do, I need to tell you that I have already been working on my 2026 goals and making a plan for my vision. Are you working on yours? If so, please share what they are.
Can you imagine, I aim to wake up to peace and joy daily. I love living a life filled with peace, but how do we get there every day? Well, I’m sure we can’t achieve this goal 100% of the time, as sometimes we have to reset and find a smile amid the chaos.
As part of my work on myself, I do a daily check-in to evaluate how I’m feeling.
How do I feel today?
I feel anxious and overwhelmed this morning.
I am tired. I woke up around 03:00 as the dogs erupted in a rage, barking at a fox outside. Startled from my slumber, I worried about my cat, Mr. Meowgi.
I sprang from my bed and bound for the door, and as I opened it, the treacherous duo tore off into the darkness to who knows where. I knew those fierce dogs were in a hot pursuit of a little trespasser, as we saw the fluffy-tailed thing in the field the day before.
Just as Josie and Chica vanished into the darkness, an excited cat zipped over the threshold and into safety. “At least Meow’s okay,” I thought, and then hollered repeatedly for the dogs, “STOP!” and “Here, girls,” to no avail.
I could hear barking, then shrill cries, as if something was being attacked, in the far distance. I wondered, “Do you think they caught it?” It was too cold to stand out in the snow, pondering the circumstances, so I stepped back inside.
I, a displeased dog mom, brewed a cup of tea to calm myself, hoping to go back to bed. It was some time before the pair of heelers returned, unscathed. I have been awake ever since.
I sipped the steamy cup and studied the Bible verse of the day and several Bible plans, but I became more aware of the world rather than tiring after the events. So, I moved on to a mindfulness training to point me toward my vision and goals in life — Peace.
My heart leaped, and microbursts of adrenaline raced through me as the trainer’s voice kept interrupting the season’s calm, the underlying anxiety from the morning surfacing.
With an empty cup and resigning myself to getting the day going, I turned on the lights, headed to the maker, and brewed a cup of coffee.
I set the cup of Joe on the counter and opened social media outlets to share the verse of the day on my stories. On opening one outlet, I saw a recipe for a protein brownie that is supposed to be healthy, nutritious and sugar-free. A healthy body feels good, and that gives me peace, plus my husband is looking for such treats. I decided to give this two-minute recipe a try.
I whisk the “Protein Brownie” ingredients together, then microwave the concoction just as the TikTokker suggested. Dumping the cooked blob from the mug, I gave it a taste, and it was truly awful. “ICK!” I wash the fibers down with a big swig of coffee and wonder how someone convinces themselves that such a thing is a delightful dupe for the traditional tasty treat.
Before I’d rinsed my pallet, the less-than-delicious experiment was abruptly interrupted again by raging mad four-leggers. The girls spied the trespasser again, and the barking commenced.
I peered out the window, and the fox was so close, and “Chica is so fast! She needs redemption,” I think, and I’m certain she can catch it. I open the door, and again, the duo bounds off, flinging tufts of snow behind as their paws dig deep.
In a mad dash, they’re out again, but the fox goes left, and they go the other direction to where they initially spied the critter. In disappointment, I again beckon them back to no avail, and as anyone with a well-trained dog knows, when the training doesn’t work, we get upset. “Well trained?! Pshh!” Yes, I felt anger rise.
I’m mad at myself for letting them out. I’m upset with them for going only to where they first saw the fox, rather than staying present and watching where the critter headed. Don’t we do that sometimes? We get so focused on one thing that we neglect other circumstances around us. Just like them, I sometimes have tunnel vision, too.
“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.” Matthew 13:16
Chica, who is indeed as fast as lightning, finally catches a glimpse of the orange blur bounding off in the opposite direction. Despite my yelling, she turns, and I see her, a gray streak, flash across the field, catching up to the fluffy trespasser. But she doesn’t catch it. She slows her pace just as she gets close.
“What is she doing?!” I say aloud. Do you imagine God thinks that about us, too, as we get so focused on the world that we don’t see the message He has for us?
What did I learn from this morning’s scenario? This has become a fun game of chase for the angry heelers, and I noted that Chica has no intention of catching the sly little beast, and feeling angry is not peaceful.
The vixen ever so gracefully bound through the snow, across, and into the hay barn. Chica returns to her sister, and the neurotic, dappled little dogs raced frantically around the field, putting their noses into each track, sniffing the evidence of scent left behind by that brilliant little fox.
I am not amused, however, I am certain that the fox is. I repeat that statement to myself and ponder…
My morning feelings are those of anxiety and overwhelm, but now I’m also adding that of slight amusement from the morning chaos.
“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” Proverbs 12:25 ESV
Lord,
Calm my worries and steady my mind. Allow me to see the humor in moments that catch me off guard, and remind me that You hold all things, even barking dogs and bold foxes, in Your hands. AMEN
As we go about our days, we must remind ourselves to look to Him. Today, I found a verse that speaks to both sides of the morning. Acknowledge the jolt of fear and anxiety, and it helps me see the humor in the whole fox vs. dogs fiasco. The verse I found nudges me toward lightness without denying the stress. And that is how I find peace amid chaos.
