I’ve lived with Scottish terriers for nearly 40 years, ever since marrying my husband, Claude. Dogs have always been in my life, but it was Claude’s love of the breed that introduced me to Scotties.

All dogs are special and unique, and Scotties have one characteristic that truly stands out: They are as stubborn as their namesake humans. As a matter of fact, they were bred by an English nobleman who lived in Scotland, and he named the breed because he saw many characteristics in the dogs that were similar to the people around him.

None of my current pack optimizes this trait more than Bernie. At 10 years old, he is more stubborn than ever. Now that he is almost deaf, he is additionally inclined to ignore me. Scotties know what they want, and they are smart, so they find creative ways to get what they want if you don’t outright give it to them.

Scotties have a sense of humor tied to that strong will. One example of this is how Bernie runs through the garage to get to the cat’s treat bowl ahead of me. As soon as he is in the door, he assesses the obstacles between him and the bowl, making a dash ahead of me, wagging his tail in pure delight if he gets to the bowl before I can pick it up. If he wins the race, he jumps with joy and gives me a big smile. If he loses the race he wags his tail, smiles, and rubs my leg. This race is more about the game than the food so he enjoys either outcome.

There is a lot we can learn from this little guy. Our God’s will for us to be at peace and filled with joy. But like the Scotties, we want to do what we want to do, whether it is good for us or not. For example, we want to judge others due to old experiences, or sometimes to see ourselves as superior to them. God wants us to love our brothers and sisters as equals, overlooking any errors. Through our stubbornness and judging, we generate fear and hate, destroying our peace and the peace around us.

Maybe we need more humor in our lives so that we can laugh again, like Bernie, rather than criticize and judge our fellow humans. We’re so serious about everything anymore that humorists find it hard to make jokes!

Ever since my Stage 4 cancer prognosis, I’ve been deep in the study of God. When I was young, attending Baptist churches, I remember hearing about an angry God who hated our sins and was mad

at humanity. I’ve since found a segment of followers

of Jesus who reject the idea of an angry God and promote the belief that the only anger on this earth is manmade.

That makes a lot of sense to me. If God really was angry with us, He would have permanently wiped us off the face of the earth a long time ago. Instead, He sent us Jesus, who among other things became a wonderful teacher showing us how to completely love one another and follow the will of our creator into peace and prosperity. I now see God as only a loving being, whose will for us is to give up judgement of others. He wants us filled with love, having faith in our fellow humans; praying for all men, women and children, that they may find peace, love, faith and salvation. Thus bringing us into Heaven on earth before we transition to Heaven above.

As I work on myself every day, forgiving and not judging my fellow travelers in this space and time, I’m learning that God’s will is much better than my will. The more I forgive and stop judging, the greater the peace, love, and joy in my life.

May you hear Him express His will in your life and may you find peace as you live closer to our creator and follow His will.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2.