Beagles

As my keyboard meandered its way through the woods of Shake Rag chasing turkeys last week, I was reminded that I also hunted rabbits in those same woods. Armed with Daddy Freeman’s single shot 20 gauge shotgun, I would call the dogs up to the house and then head for the woods. Daddy Freeman’s dogs were service animals first, then pets. Mike was an English Setter that had been around since God had planted the grass. He was a pretty good bird dog but what I liked most about Mike was his snake hunting abilities. Mike and Mama Bea shared an equitable amount of hatred for water moccasins. He and I would often just go snake hunting. He would spot a snake at the water’s edge, grab it and shake it until there was nothing left to shake. There is no telling how many times he was bitten. Then there was Mary and her clan. Mary was the queen beagle. She had a great nose and a distinctive yelp. You could always tell when they were on a rabbit. Often, she and the other beagles would go out hunting all night and make it home in time for breakfast which was usually a pan of corn bread that Mama Bea had cooked the night before.

So off we would head into the woods. I would make my way to briar patch after briar patch giving it a kick and a stomp. Eventually a rabbit would pop out and the hunt would be on. Hunting rabbits with beagles is not like the pictures you see of dogs hunting foxes. Beagles tend to walk rather than run, relying on their noses rather than their eyes to follow the rabbit. Surprisingly, the rabbit isn’t much faster. It does have that initial burst out of the briar patch. After all, a beagle’s bite is worse than its bark so it clears out pretty fast. But then, after a bit of distance, it will slow down, rest, hop a bit, rest some more. The rabbit will stay a safe distance out in front of the dogs. Funny thing about rabbits: they run in circles, big circles. Always. No one knows why since no one can speak rabbit. Some speculate that it is because they are just staying within the area they call home. They don’t know what lies beyond so why risk going there. Some think they are doubling back to confuse the dogs. Whichever, they run in circles.

The beagles never catch on to this, noses to the ground, they’ll trail right along behind that rabbit when what they should do is just sit and wait. If they would just pause long enough to take a look around, maybe they would spot the furry critter and get a clue. Nope. Noses to the ground, yelping, following, trailing, persistently, predictably, hunting. They run until they get tired or the hunter has, well, you know. Then they head home for a pan of cornbread.

Ever felt like you were running in circles? Are you going through life with nose to the ground, predictably doing what you always do? You might do it well, but it’s the same ol’, same ol’. We all do at some time or another. I suspect even my surgeon friend over in Mississippi looks down occasionally and even thinks, “Same old gall bladder-ectomy.” When that happens to me, it’s time to not just pause and look around, but look up. Brother Lawrence, a monk in the seventeenth century saw God in the mundane. He said, “It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God." All we do, even chasing rabbits, is done for the kingdom and our Lord. Even much of what we do during Advent and the Christmas season can make it seem like we are running in circles. Before we wear ourselves out, let’s pause in those times, look up and thank God that we are able to do, to be, to love, and to share . . . for others . . . and more importantly . . . for the Christ child’s sake.