Loki

Loki came to live with us on 7 September 2019, when he was only but 18 days old. He was tiny and in fragile condition because he had been fed on by crows within hours of his birth. His right hind paw is missing as a result and those savage crows managed to also gobble up a couple of toes on his left hind paw. When he first came home, he could barely keep his eyes open. He slept a lot, was bottle fed  (with great difficulty) every couple of hours and he moaned and groaned a lot, because of the pain from his injuries. He clung on to life, really! By the time he was four weeks old, he seemed to be blind in one eye, which broke my heart. It felt like another set back for this little one. Thankfully though, he wasn’t blind but had somehow contracted conjunctivitis! Meds and eye drops helped and he started looking better and gaining strength. He was playful and ever so curious! He was rather wobbly but even then would try to investigate whatever he could as much as he could. He was just so tiny!

Once he was 2 1/2 months old, there seemed to be a growth spurt! He just grew! As he grew, his coat changed and he looked more like a tiger, thanks to the markings on his coat. He gained strength too. His appetite improved and lo and behold, we had a healthy little pup bouncing around! Healthy and naughty! Let that bit not be forgotten.

Loki is so very naughty! I started taking him to obedience classes but after 5 or so classes, we’ve had this Coronavirus interruption! The last couple of classes, he was easily the most well-behaved pup in class! A model citizen. If only they knew! Loki lives up to his name as the god of the mischief. In the car, he isn’t happy unless he is sitting on my lap with his paws on my shoulders. He imagines I can drive that way! When safety precautions are taken so that he doesn’t attempt such a sitting position, he yelps the entire 33 km drive to get there, only to behave impeccably while we are there. Of course the charade ends when we’re on our way back. He whines as though he’s being hard done by! The mischief!

Loki also has learnt to steal. He steals raw potatoes (which can be toxic to dogs!), onions, garlic and vegetables from the kitchen. He steals biscuits and any other food he can get his little paws on. He is quite tall and is able to lift stuff off the kitchen counter and dining table ever so easily! He steals clothes and shreds them. He loves the challenge of stealing medicines- thankfully, that’s not happened and so he steals the empty strips. He intercepts parcels when they arrive and opens them and has a good game with whatever was delivered before you know it. He steals the insoles of shoes, when he realised that stealing the shoe itself was too obvious. Loki’s life of crime is quite new but it is something from which he is gaining much experience!

This god of mischief is also rather demanding when it comes to human attention. He feels that he was born for the whole world to pet and cuddle! When we go for a walk, he has these routine demands that he makes of my neighbours. From one of them, he insists on a pat on the head with some kind words. Another has to give him water (because we don’t have any at home, apparently!) and she has to let him lick her hands. Yet another couple have to cuddle him and a couple of others have to give him a bit of a pat and a welcome. That’s just the people on our walks. He has also made friends with some dogs and there, the social greetings are quite dramatic! Loki also demands excessive amounts of attention from my dad. My dad’s walking stick is an endless source of joy for Loki. At times he looks almost as if he’s pole dancing! He also sits on a pouffe facing my dad until he gets the exact amount of loving that he deems fit. Another aunt, our gardener and helper are all people from whom he doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He has the most exuberant greeting for them. When friends turn up, Loki turns it on. It’s a wet, hurricane like greeting. When it comes to me, Loki ramps up his attention seeking. There was the battle of his feeding time. He was holding out for treats! The little demon! It was tough because I had to be ruthless to get him to eat properly. It took 3 weeks at least to get some kind of discipline instilled. The next thing that the god of mischief does when I am on work calls or am busy working, is to take one of his toys and push it under the couch. He then whimpers and cries like there’s no tomorrow until you get it out. Initially, I hadn’t realised that he was doing it on purpose – but I caught him by chance on one day, when I looked up from something I was reading. The god of mischief certainly has creativity on his side. The little terror also knows that when he’s near the door, it means that I’ll go to him to open it. He uses that tactic whenever I’m busy with work or am doing something that he’s not the centre of! I’ve tried telling him about the boy who cried wolf, but that’s not quite sinking in, it seems! Hah!

Loki is naughty! He seeks out things to do to bring out the naughtiness within. He’s on high alert to be mischievous. It’s interesting to watch. He loves having a nose around the table my dad keeps his stuff on. He somehow lifts or moves things about to inspect and see what he can do. If he sees something hanging, he immediately goes in to see if he can give it a good tug. Yanking things off from where they belong is his speciality! Every bag gets inspected, he tries to get into cupboards even on his own, he likes to pry open boxes and dislikes closed doors. He teases out plants from their pots and shreds them- another speciality. He manages to find a way to do or take something that he shouldn’t! It’s not like he doesn’t have loads of chew toys and other toys to play with. Those would mean he’s behaving – and that’s a rarity! Whenever he is caught, he tries to make a jolly of it! He tries to get me involved in this mischief – as if to say this is a game he and I should be playing! It makes discipline very difficult.

There are things he does that almost make you want to forgive anything and everything! When we go to bed at night, he takes pains to try and hold my hand. He wants to cuddle all the time and he loves trying to hug at various points in the night. It is rather endearing. He does all sorts to show love: he wants to be a part of my day the entire time.

I often think on that and wonder if there is ever a conundrum on his part as he tries to come back to me no matter how naughty he has been. It makes me reflect on my own attitude towards God. I know the dynamics of my relationship with God are far more complicated but I think that is because I am complicated. I struggle to apologise to Him, when I know I must and often, I end up playing the avoidance game. I know I haven’t got a leg to stand on. Nothing changes how much I need Him in my life. I don’t for a minute think that God will be easily amused if I ran back to Him every single time I make a mistake, pretending as if nothing has happened. Far from it. I think, though, He is pleased if I go running back to Him in penitence. It turns out that I have a similarity with the god of mischief – penitence is something I find difficult. I struggle to live it out. I almost always have an argument- after all, He is in control and could’ve or should’ve ensured that things never got out of hand. I have no excuse. I need help from God for sure. This is beyond my strength.

Knowing how much I lack in terms of grace in comparison to our Father in Heaven, I am thankful to Him for the lesson He has granted me through little Loki. No matter what Loki does, I love him. I love his little face and I’m proud of him when he does well. I know that I don’t outshine Jesus where grace is concerned. I also know that I am not as cute as Loki is. However, I firmly believe that I will be met by grace if I go back to Him in penitence. Humility is tough, even when no one is looking.

I also know that through some training and discipline, Loki has picked up some good habits. I reflect too on lessons that I’ve had in life, especially the ones brought about by direct disobedience to God. The consequences were felt but they have forced certain habits that I know are good. Also, when I look at Loki, I realise that no matter what the discipline has been, he is secure with me. He trusts and loves me. I need to be more like this, I confess. Loki is doing a better job at this than I am. I think I need to remind myself too, that I am secure in Christ for the ultimate punishment that was meant for me, fell upon him. He has secured my eternity. I should always love and trust in Him.

Thank You, Lord, for Loki and for some of the reminders I have of You and me as I reflect in him and me.