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Once upon a time a little girl lived in this beautiful house with a wide open yard and luscious green grass.
Now the neighborhood was full of dogs that would often run around between different open yards; some dogs would stop by and interact with the little girl, while others would just run by and mind their own business. The only thing they all had in common was traipsing through the yard leaving her once tall and untouched grass now worn down and withered.
After a while the young girl decided to build a fence to keep her yard clean and safe. But to ensure she didn’t block out all the friendly dogs, she left a gate in which she could swing open and close.
Now as the girl was walking about around the town there was one particular dog who would follow her and play with her in the park, and soon became a real companion. Occasionally she decided to invite the dog into her yard after it would walk her home, but every time the dog would stop at the gate and go no further.
The little girl wondered why this was and decided the fence must be too terrifying for the dog. So one night the little girl took an axe and demolished the fence surrounding her yard so that she could share her yard with the friendly dog. Still the dog would stop where the gate once was and would not enter into her yard.
The little girl was sad at this and began leaving the dog some treats in hopes that he would one day feel comfortable to join her in her yard. The next morning the little girl awoke to find the dog bowl empty, but still the dog would stop where the gate once was. After several days of leaving out treats and no response from the dog, the dog disappeared.
The little girl was devastated. She did everything she could to let the dog know that it was okay to come in and play in the yard with her, and all he did was leave. So one night the little girl decided to rebuild the fence to at least keep her from expecting the dog to come in and visit.
Finally the dog would appear waiting at the gate for the little girl to come out into the neighborhood. The little girl was so pleasantly surprised and decided to this time break down the swinging gate to leave a forever open whole in the fence for the dog to come in. Once more the dog would not enter the yard, and after many days and weeks disappeared again.
Hurt and confused, the little girl didn’t know what to do. She always thought that this friendly dog wanted to come in and play in her beautiful yard but every time she gave him the chance he refused.
After much thinking, the girl realized a fence wasn’t good enough. She didn’t want to keep the friendly dog out, but somehow she had to stop herself from expecting the dog to come in and play in her yard. She figured the best solution would be to build a tall, thick wall in which she knew no dog could enter past.
The girl knew it may hurt to cut off all the other friendly dogs from ever coming into her yard, but it was much easier than constantly trying and waiting for the dog to do what she now knew he would never do. The protective wall, now built high, would provide her comfort and freedom from rejection and pain.
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Months Later
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That girl once pained by rejection had begun to live comfortably within the tall walls. Somehow being walled off from the world, she felt comfortable and free. Eventually she began hanging artwork on the walls to give them a homey and permanent feel. These walls were not to be destroyed, they were meant to protect her for the rest of her life.
After time went by the little girl broke noticed some cracks in the walls surrounding her. She probably would have gone to repair them, but she liked being able to see the outside world. She simply enjoyed watching the neighborhood dogs play in nearby yards. After all, the cracks were too small for even the smallest of pups to squeeze through, so the wall still protected her from pain.
But what the little girl did not foresee was that as these unrepaired cracks allowed her to see the dogs outside her walls, they also allowed the dogs to see her. Maybe it didn’t cross her mind because she assumed no dog would bother looking at a yard when next door was an open yard with well kept grass to play in. But she was wrong.
One day she noticed a dog peering back at her through the cracks. Quickly she turned around to go back into her house and shut the blinds. The dog must have been lost or confused. Why else would it sit and look through the cracks in the wall? Or maybe this dog was just curious. Eventually the little girl got used to the dog peering curiously through the cracks. But as soon as she got her hopes up, she remembered what happened with the last dog and shrugged it off. As soon as his curiosity was fed, he too would abandon her. It was just a matter of time.
But day after day the dog returned contentedly peering through the cracks. He didn’t seem to want to play in the neighboring yards, rather he wanted to sit and watch her yard from a far. After a time the little girl began looking out through the cracks in her wall, not at the other yards full of friendly dogs, but at the one dog sitting happily outside her wall.
As weeks went on the cracks in her wall began to grow. Noticing this tragedy she grabbed her tools to begin repairing the wall, but she couldn’t lift a hammer when she noticed that dog looking at her through the wall. The little girl realized that to repair the wall would be to cut off this nice dog that she knew little about. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Time and time she tried. She would grab her tools and get them all the ay out to the wall, but as she started to left her arm with the hammer it dropped back down.
One day after failing at repairing the wall she dropped the hammer and quickly grabbed the sledgehammer. For the first time in months her wall was more of a cage than a protector. She still wanted the wall’s protection, but somehow she felt trapped. Her wall could still protect her even if she installed a big window in it...right? Or did she ultimately have to choose between wall and canine?
Day after day the girl would go out to the edge of her wall where her window was located and sit enjoying the company of this new dog. And with each day the cracks continued to grow larger and larger. In order to protect her wall, instead of repairing it she began installing windows all over. The dog may not be able to get in yet, but with each day he was able to see her and her yard all the more.
As she sat and enjoyed her time spent with the dog, the more she began to realize that a choice would have to be made. It was either the dog, or the wall. One could stay, but one would have to go. She tried her best to keep both, but as she did so she felt disconnected and caged. It became painful to have both around. Either she had to repair her wall so she could not see the dog at all and would soon feel safe and free within her walls again, or she had to start taking the wall down so she could let the dog in (as she so longingly wanted to).
With each day the little girl took a piece of the wall away; some small, some large. Some days she would feel unsafe and vulnerable, other days she felt peace and comfort. The little girl had become dependent upon the walls to support and protect her. She forgot that she could find that protection within herself. And maybe, just maybe this dog would not give her a reason to be protected.
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Freedom
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One fateful day, it was down. What once was a tall thick wall, was merely a small hurdle for a friendly dog. She was free. The size of the wall was now only tall enough to keep the pesky rats out. The rest was diminished. It was scary, but it was freeing. It felt great.
But as she looked around the dog just sat there. Peering, as he did when the wall was still there, and not moving. What was merely a small leap for him, he didn't make the effort. He just sat there. And just like the previous dog, he soon vanished.
Maybe he saw all he wanted to see. Maybe he saw something he didn't want to see. Maybe he just didn't want to make that small leap of effort. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. It doesn't matter now. He was gone.
But the girl. She stood there. At first, confused, abandoned (again), and used (again). And her wall was no longer there as protection. But then. Oh yes, and then. She spun around, looking at the world around her. And for the first time in a long time...she truly smiled.
It was never about the wall. The wall was a disguise. She used to be so unhappy and needed something to blame, so she built a wall and blamed it. But as the wall came down...nothing changed. She was only ever looking for happiness.
It was never about the dog. The dog served his purpose. He simply made her happy enough to give her a reason to take down the wall. And when the wall disappeared, so did the dog. Sometimes she thinks the dog was just a figment of her imagination, but he wasn't. He was there...for a brief, curious moment he was there.
But once he disappeared, she realized something. He was not the source of her happiness, he merely reminded her that happiness can exist. And by abandoning her, he reminded her that happiness cannot be found in others, it has to be found in yourself. Relying on others for happiness only leaves you disappointed and in the dust eventually (whether you hope otherwise or not). But despite all the abandonment and disappointment, there is still happiness to be found.
This time, where she found happiness was in herself and in her Creator. No longer does she rely on people or circumstance to be the source of that smile, lit up from true happiness. And where that smile comes from...no one can take that away!
Now there is no wall.
Now there is no dog.
But there is a little girl with the biggest, brightest smile on her face. And it’s there to stay!
And that’s an even better happy ending for this story than she ever planned on having. But wait, this isn’t an ending at all, this is simply a new beginning.
A very happy new beginning...
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