Meet Tephra.
She likes to eat. She likes to sleep. She likes to take walks.
One thing she doesn't like (at all) is getting her nails trimmed. At the sight of the nail clippers, she transforms into a barking, growling, snarling little monster. She really hates those clippers. Unfortunately (in her estimation) her nails must be clipped from time to time.
Yesterday, Sarah decided it was high time that Tephra's ever-growing nails be trimmed to a more reasonable length. Out came the hated nail clippers. True to form, Tephra started whining, growling, and showing her teeth. (Which is a completely ridiculous sight to everyone except Tephra, of course.) Sarah scooped her up and sat down on the couch, assuring her that if she just held still, it would all be over very soon.
You'd think after all these times, Tephra would have learned that to sweetly hold still would be the quickest and easiest way to get things taken care of. After all, those nails need to be trimmed whether she likes it or not.
Nope. She isn't the brainiest dog on the block.
She squirmed and whined and struggled while Sarah held her firmly and began clipping. Then the inevitable happened: Tephra jerked her paw violently at just the wrong time, and the nail got clipped too short. This happened not once, not twice, but THREE times yesterday. The third time was the worst.
The nail was bleeding so badly that Sarah had to use a special powder to staunch the flow. Tephra fought that, too. How stupid! Didn't she realize that this would help her?! Sarah (being quite a bit wiser than Tephra) did what she had to do, in spite of Tephra's struggles and obvious distaste for the process. She stopped the bleeding, finished trimming the nails, and gently stroked Tephra to calm her.
Eventually Little Trouble quieted down and lay, still shaking, in Sarah's arms.
Thanks to her struggles, the experience - which could have been relatively painless - was traumatic.
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Sometimes, I'm a whole lot more like Tephra than I'd like to admit. When God takes out the spiritual nail clippers, I'd much rather fight the process than simply submit to whatever needs to be done in my life. Fighting God is never worth it, and I know that, just as I'm sure that the memory of bleeding, too-short nails stays in Tephra's tiny little head (that's probably why she's so scared to get them trimmed!).
Thankfully, God does not let my whining and struggles keep Him from doing what He knows is for my good. He doesn't "lose His temper" or give up on me; He continues to gently clip away at the areas that need trimming.
It's just one more way He demonstrates His grace towards me.
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