Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

“Love on a Leash” = Love Unleashed!

3/5/2005
By: Holy Trinity Lutheran

I used to think that stewardship was just about money. Recently, however, in an after worship conversation, I realized that the term means more than this. It means giving of yourself with love to a worthy cause.

I have a wonderful 80-pound, 11-year-old golden retriever named Cobber, whom I love dearly. Many of you know him. I take him everywhere I can, and I even used him in a children’s sermon one time with Pastor Janet. The kids loved him! I now have him in a program called “Love on a Leash” where I take him to retirement and nursing homes. There are four of us who take our dogs once or twice a week. It is a wonderful program and is great therapy for the residents, who hug and pet and sometimes kiss the dogs. It’s great therapy for us, too, to see how much love our dogs can bring into an elderly life. Many of the people tell us about the dogs they once had when they were younger and how much they miss them. I’ve met some fine people, and we share stories about our dogs.

Cobber is so good in this program. He seems to know just what to do, and I am so proud of him. He loves all the attention, of course, and can’t wait to “go for a ride to see his pals.” He plunks his head down in their laps and is in doggy heaven. Me, too; this is stewardship that is not about money. It’s all about unleashing our love, Christ’s love, in the world. Stewardship is how we choose to use any of our gifts to show God our gratitude. Maybe even Cobber knows that! — Fred Bowman