Bad News Beagles

There are some 4 legged friends of mine that live next door and bark at anything and everything they feel like it. It's mostly when I go out the back door to get the lawnmower or just go in the storage house to get something and as soon as they hear the crack of a leaf or even a door opening, "BROOOO!!! ROO ROO ROO!!...........ROO!" I can almost sing with them exactly how they bark and know exactly which one is barking at me. There are 6 beagles but only 3 of them feel the nerve to bark and really one of them is the main barker and I think she has peer pressure on the other 2. Last night while trying to sleep, either the tooth fairy or a swarm of misquitos went through that backyard and you would have thought a theif has busted out a window of their house to get in. They were going NUTS!! It's one thing for me to hear a noise but I really don't want Emily to wake up because of them. It kills me to know they are ruining her beauty sleep. She's a very peaceful sleeper and when I see her sleeping I just want to snuggle up close to her. God has truly truly blessed me more than I could have ever imagined. Em had woken up and then I got up to look out the window and sure enough they just all of the sudden quit barking. Who knows what it was they were barking at. One thing about them though really gets me thinking about patience. A couple of weeks ago I was working on my lawnmower and putting a battery in it to troubleshoot the ignition. To give you a visual, my lawnmower sits under it's little carport and is about 4 or 5 feet away from the beagle den. As I was putting in that battery this one beagle, Moo Moo, was just tearing into me and barking as if I had said something bad to her momma. I mean for like 15 minutes non stop, Moo Moo, was Mooing at me something serious and she wanted me to hear every last word of it. But all during that time I thought, ya know, throwing something at her wouldn't do anything but make enemies more than I already am even though I haven't done anything. I really just sat there in a sense of calmness and God giving me the patience right there to not get angry or upset. Because my lawnmower was giving me troubles and Moo Moo hurling Roo's at me, patience could have worn out really quick.

One thing that comes to mind when I think of patience is the Fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness..." To have that thought and reminder when I hear the beagle chior, I hope to always be patient in situations where patience could wear off. I wish I could tell Moo Moo about patience but maybe, just maybe, my actions would speak louder than words.

Update: After talking with the neighbors about the dogs, they gave one, the head honcho beagle away to a nice caring home or back to their original owners. I'm not sure who, but I know the barking is down from how it used to be.