Blue Grass and Jesus

http://www.vtcucc.org/churches/EastHardwick.html


While in VT on vacation, I happened to notice an ad in the local paper that said there would be a blue grass band performing at the Sunday service in this tiny little post-civil war Congregational Church just down the street from my in-laws' house(link above). I figured I had to check this out. Tim and Liv took a pass as did my in-laws.
I have to say, it was the sweetest little service I have ever been to and I was sorry they missed it. There were only 16 people there and that included the 3-piece band and one of their kids, the organist, and the Deacon, who ran the service because the Pastor was not there. The music was great. Everyone knew everyone, 'cept me of course, and gosh, it was really moving and warm and fuzzy and memorable. Just a toe-tapping good time. The band was 2 guys, who both played acoustic guitars and banjos, and the one guy's wife, who played a bass guitar. The guys did all the singing. At the conclusion of the service, the whole congregation, all 16 of us, got up and formed a circle, held hands and sang(or in my case, mouthed the words to)  "Til we meet again." DO YOU GET any more warm and fuzzy than that?! The Deacon started the service with this speech. I asked if he had a copy of it after the service and he gladly gave me his. I must say, it made us all laugh out loud and then it made me think. He said:

"If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining,
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
It you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender
preference, or politics,
THEN, you have ALMOST reached the same level of development
As your dog."

I thought this was hysterical. But then it also made me think of something. One is obviously expecting the last line to say something like, "you are blessed" or "living a Godly life" or something about Jesus. Instead it made me think that my dog is a MUCH better Christian than I am because I can't say that I can do ALL of those things, consistantly. So a lot of us folks who love pets and hope so much that the ones we have loved do go to Heaven so we can see them again,......well.......maybe the reality is that our pets are a shoo-in to get to Heaven and THEY may be worried if WE are going to "make the cut" so they can see us in the here-after. Just sayin'.  ;o)

Maybe I have to start taking cues from my puppy. :o)