Get Your Nose Into Their Business
Every single day it’s the same thing. Day in and day out.
When this is your life it’s hard not to become complacent. It’s sometimes difficult to pay attention when you do the same thing every day.
But I have to.
I have to force myself to pay attention. If I alter my routine at all I’m prone to miss something and I’ve done that before. So, I methodically go through my tasks every day; same process and thankfully-same outcome. Everyone gets fed, checked over, and let out.
I’ve mentioned before, the horror of leaving Pearl locked in her stall. She isn’t likely to let me forget again. If she’s in there too long she’ll holler. The main reason I pen her up in the first place is because she’s such a pest. She will run anyone off their food, even the longhorns. And although Mini Pearl needs not one morsel of grain, I have to feed her a tiny bit to keep her nose out of everyone else’s bucket.
Persistence. I’ve wondered about renaming her that. She never gives up. When I let her out, she tries her darndest to get a bite from my bucket, so I have to carry it with me to each stall and fight her along the way. Once I let everyone else out, she dutifully checks each bucket for a crumb, often pinning back her big, long ears and warning anyone else that might wanna check too. She doesn’t miss a speck of leftovers, not even a crumb in the dirt.
If there was a day that Pearl didn’t show up for a meal, or if she just walked off when I opened her gate, I’d worry that something was wrong. She is that consistent. If I’m late, she’s waiting and likely to holler out with her pitiful, mini donkey bray.
Her routine is comforting to me. I can count on it and somehow I’ve come to rely on it. She probably feels likewise, counting and relying on my routine to care for her. Remind her that she’s loved.
Pearl’s attitude and personality fits her and isn’t likely to change unless something hurts her or overpowers her. She is strong willed and confident and I’m pretty sure she really doesn’t care that the leader of her pack is five feet taller and much faster than she, yet she trusts that I will be there for her.
We can learn from Pearl.
There’s a difference between being nosey and being caring. Sometimes we need to keep our nose in people’s business to know when they need help. Knowing the patterns and personalities of others is key to knowing when they need our help. Keeping ourselves present and available helps too. Even when you feel like a pest, or even if you’re treated like a pest, there can be comfort in the persistence that checking in and being “there” can give.
As much as Pearl can make me batty, she is a big comfort to me. I know that if there was something wrong, she would be the first to let me know.
Keep your nose in people’s business-in a good way. Be present for them. Check on them and let them know you care.
Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 25: 37-40 “Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? (38) When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? (39) When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? (40) “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’”.
