Walking with Maisy

It’s 7 am and 26 degrees, and I’m in the backyard in my pajamas and heavy coat, encouraging our granddog Maisy to get her business done. She unfortunately, is not in a hurry.

Maisy is staying with us this week while Adam and Jess enjoy a white Christmas in upstate New York with Jess’s family. Life slows down when she is here.

She had surgery on her knee several weeks ago, so we can’t go for long walks at the park or visit my friend who just got a new puppy. She is not supposed to get too rambunctious, so we are having a quiet holiday, with short meandering walks around our four acres. She loves every minute.

I wish I knew what stories Maisy gets through her nose as she studies a rock or tree with the intensity of an archeologist making a great discovery. Does every animal that passes by leave his or her message, much like a guestbook at an Airbnb? I try to be patient and let her get her smelling done, knowing how I feel when I’m pulled away from a great book.

I feel calm and at peace in the quiet. Instead of focusing on my usual morning power walk, I’m noticing the blue of the sky and the coos of far-off geese. I see a hawk circling the field behind our house and discover a bird’s nest revealed in the middle of a bush after its leaves have fallen away. In the cold mornings I see the stars still hanging on as the sun comes up orange across the pasture.

Through the past year I’ve been reading daily devotions from Thomas Merton, and this quote captures my mood:

“When you accept what you have, you see all you have received is more than enough and you are overwhelmed…In the last few days, I have seen what matters is to be humble enough to admit I am content with just this. Leave the rest to God.” (A Year with Thomas Merton, p. 269)

I hope as the shopping, wrapping, decorating, and cooking are easing up that you too can have some down time and emulate Maisy, with slow meandering walks, lots of naps, and special treats.

And leave the rest to God.