Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Canine Apologies


I'm really sorry I haven't blogged for a while. The longer I went without blogging the more pressure I felt to have something profound to say once I actually did blog... but the profundity never came. That is until the other night when I was tossing my dog ice cubes.

Doogle (the dog) loves ice cubes. Anytime he hears me rustling in the freezer he comes running for an ice cube. On command (he has me well trained) I tossed him one. Only this time I missed. It was just a bad toss. He deftly compensated for my error and caught the ice cube. And I said, "Sorry Doogle."

My 14 year old son was watching the whole thing. "Dad," he said, "do you ever wonder why we tell our dog 'sorry?'" I was caught. Busted. Apologizing to a canine.

Which brings me back to my original apology for not blogging in a while... Am I really? Sorry, that is. Or is that just the polite thing to say? Surely an apology can never be out of order, can it? Even if it is an apology to a dog?

The Houston Chronicle ran a story this morning entitled "Remorseful note near League City hit & run victim." 34-year old Maurice Jones was found dead Sunday morning after an apparent hit & run. Next to the victim was an 'I'm sorry' note left by driver. "If you hit somebody's car you apologize, but when you kill a person that's a totally different story," said the mother of the victim.

For Christians next week marks the culmination of the season we call Lent. Lent is a time of personal and corporate reflection about the things we are sorry for. On Good Friday I'll stare at the cross and ponder my own guilt for another man's death.

I wonder what I'll say...?

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