Vern knew he had made a bad decision. The harsh rebuke clearly demonstrated that he had reacted in a way that was not acceptable. With head held low to the ground, the little dog scurried under the foot stool and scrunched into a ball. Maybe, here, covered by the flaps, no humans would see him. Maybe he could become invisible.
How often, when we make poor decisions do we want to hide away from the world? Sometimes, a deep sense of remorse for our actions causes us to want to flee. Peter, Jesus’ disciple knew this feeling of sorrow over his actions. Jesus clearly told him that he would deny him three times before the rooster crowed twice. Peter, being his self-assured self, told Jesus that he would stand by his side, no matter what happened. (Mark 14:29-31)
As we all know, Peter did deny his relationship with Jesus. And what did Peter do? He wept and then fled. The moment of truth was like a mirror of his character, and it was too much to bear.
The cool part of the story comes when Jesus is raised from the dead, and his last personal conversation is with Peter. Jesus knew Peter felt remorse for his actions and desired to reassure him of his love. And like Peter, Jesus knows our unique needs and treats us accordingly.
In the same manner, after Vern had been under the stool for a couple of minutes, my husband sat down on the floor, took the scared pooch in his arms, pet his coat, and reminded him of his love.
